#Where I have my notes app open when I watch an episode. And I essentially live blog on it.

[wiredalienvampire]

he's so itty bitty ^_^

[thevirgodoll]

hi! i was wondering if you have any tips to stay organized and stay on task? i’ve been doing a short online course this year and have really struggled to ACTUALLY bring myself to do the work, as assignments and lessons are not under any time constraints i just don’t do it. i also have adhd so get bored or distracted easily. do you have any tips for me?

This is really close to me because I also have ADHD. I have both inattentive and hyperactive type. *As a result, this academic tip guide will be a guide for people with ADHD and not neurotypical people, without disability. There is a difference.*

I am doing online as well this semester.

1. I create a schedule. If I do not create a schedule, I will be unproductive the entire day. So, what will help you is to do things in orderly fashion.

For example, at 12p - I will do this assignment/watch this lecture. You have to dictate what time you’re doing everything. Then, you also have to block out technology distractions while you are working. 

-> Even if you’ve gotten halfway through the day with no schedule, write down or block off times on your digital calendar for what you are going to do at each time. ADHD is easier to tackle if you break things down into smaller tasks.

*Pro tip that I almost forgot: before you do anything, wear your day clothes. Don’t wear pajamas. Actually getting dressed or even doing hair/makeup changes things.

2. Download the Forest app after you have created your schedule. I consistently recommend this because it works in increasing productivity. It allows you to set it for however long you’re doing this task, say 30 minutes.

-> Why?: It will block all apps on your phone for (insert time here) to plant a tree, and if you leave the app your “tree” will die. Eventually, the more sessions you do, the more points you will gain to plant different plants, and eventually plant real trees around the world.

3. Have a list (& a planner) as well. Not only is the schedule creating structure, but the list creates even more structure so you know what you need to get done for the day. It also helps you not fall victim to the classic symptom of forgetting. Each day, you should write down what you WANT to get done and create your own times to look at lecture and assignments. Have goals for the day.

For example: complete assignment 2.

If you do not have expectations with yourself before the day begins, your ADHD will kind of take over and do something else. I have structure to my day. I set a timer to wake up at the same time. I take my ADHD medicine 90 minutes before my final wake up time, and I do my morning routine once it kicks in. Having the same routine helps.

-> Focus on your goals. Don’t be super harsh about the times.

-> Don’t overwhelm with how many things on to do list. Again, break it up into small tasks. For example, one part being: Wash dishes or fold laundry. It makes it less overwhelming to your brain and gives you a choice of which task. Typical non ADHD people just tell you to prioritize tasks but that doesn’t work for us. Do it in a random order and it gets the job done.

4. TAKE BREAKS! The other side to this is making sure that you give yourself adequate breaks.

*For hyperfocus, wait til your hyperfocus has started to wear off. Use it to your advantage for peak productivity. It is no joke.*

-> The misconception is that some people with ADHD are lazy and as a result, some ADHDers won’t take breaks. You can take a break. Healthy, long breaks do more for you long term.

-> Have a timer set. For example, after a 45 minute session or an hour session, I will take a break to do another task that has nothing to do with studying, like laundry, eating a snack, or stretching. Then after that task is done, I will go back to studying.

5. Have a workspace. Only do work at this space. I do schoolwork at my living room table and it is perfect. I do not study in my room because that is my sanctuary for relaxation and rest, not productivity. Make an effort to make the workspace clean, with your supplies - laptop, notebooks, pens, etc - readily available.

-> Once I get to my workspace, everything for the morning is already done. I’ve done my morning routine, so all there is left to do is hydrate while I study.

6. Recognize if you have adequate energy to do the task. Sometimes, with ADHD you may neglect your needs. If you are not getting enough rest, here are some tips:

•Bed should be for rest only.

•Blackout curtains

•Lavender essential oil, I have a diffuser but you can also put it on your pillow

•Background noise: pick what you want, lo fi music, rain sounds, binaural beats, singing bowls

•If all else fails, ADHD is often comorbid with other illnesses, meaning you could have a form of depression causing insomnia for example. This should be considered if you are having long term issues and symptoms.

7. Don’t overdo it. We are not neurotypical. Executive dysfunction is real - meaning our brains actually shut down when it perceives a task to be mundane.

-> You do not have to fit everything into one schedule for the sake of being “productive”. Each day should be what you know you can do, and there are different days to tackle different goals.

-> When you feel like you cannot continue, which is literally a symptom of ADHD, sit still for a few minutes.

8. Have a “What I Did Today” List. Because of how ADHD actually makes us feel, we don’t realize how much work we have put in. ADHD actually can be explained easily, we have about 2 dopamine workers showing up to work while most people are at maximum capacity. We are working overtime to do our best, even on medicine. So, acknowledging what we did today is good and encouraging, or at least reflecting in a journal.

9. Play music. It’s recommended to play study music without words because with ADHD we will submerge ourselves into the playlist of nostalgic 90s R&B. I recommend lo fi hip hop on YouTube, video game instrumentals, classical music, or jazz instrumentals. Whatever gets you going just do it!

General ADHD tips:

•Rewrite lecture notes and type the lecture notes.

•Color code with bright colors and pretty drawings or calligraphy

•Instead of telling yourself “I need to take notes” which usually leads to procrastination say “Rewrite lecture notes and emphasize main points” ... this is useful in your to do list but in everyday goals

•Generally try to get your assignments done ahead of time if there is structure to certain courses, if not, again, stick to the schedule. If you slip one day off your schedule then don’t beat yourself up. Breathe!!!

•Side effect of most ADHD meds is that you’re not hungry so buy easy things to eat like muscle milk or yogurt and granola or smoothies so you can sustain yourself

•Get a dry erase board to show what you need to do for the day and put it on the fridge with command strips

•To avoid forgetting things, put them at a table near the door where you leave your apartment/dorm/house.

•Don’t overthink the time it takes to get ready, often that’s why ADHDers are late. Better to be super early than late though - have a routine set so you know how long each task takes - for example “I know a shower takes me 15 mins, washing my face takes 60 seconds and a few more including sunscreen/moisturizer, etc...”

•In that same grain, set timers for going to the bathroom, showering, etc just in case you one day hyperfocus and push yourself too far

•Open the blinds!!!!

•Clean your room and tidy up your space. A cluttered space impacts your mental health in a really negative way. Your space reflects your mental state at times as well, so check in with yourself. Have a specific day where you know you’re going to clean, but ADHD sometimes gives us bursts of cleaning so take advantage of that as well.

•Anytime your water bottle empties refill it. Have your water bottle or mason jar next to your workspace, and drink 5-10 gulps. Seriously. ADHD depends a lot on hydration, especially if you are on medicine which naturally dehydrates you. If you do not stay hydrated, you’ll get that massive headache mid day and crash sooner. A lot of times, lack of productivity can be due to not drinking enough water.

•If you don’t take medication, then sometimes you may notice you love coffee, and that’s because it’s a stimulant. Too much of anything is not good, but balance it with water. If you’re going to use coffee to kinda “medicate” then do it close to when you’re going to be productive.

•Setting yourself up to do a task rather than envisioning the overwhelming act of doing the entire action. “Okay, lets just get up and get the first step down, such as opening the laptop or wetting the toothbrush.” Baby steps.

•Take advantage of accommodations! Your college more than likely has an Office of Disability Services. Also, email your professors...they’re actually just as stressed as you about classes being online.

•Remember that you’re already trying as hard as you can, so don’t listen to the narrative of “try harder”, “you’re *r word*”, “you’re cheating by using medication”, “just do it,” “it’s easy,” “what’s so hard about it?” or “you’re lazy”. Anyone telling you that, even yourself, is wrong. And DO NOT allow anyone to be ableist, even yourself.

•Validate yourself. Don’t let anyone to do the “I experience that too”/“I know what you mean”/“we ALL have trouble with this!” and they don’t have ADHD. No. It’s our experience, it’s valid, and unlike anything on the planet. If you’re reading this and you don’t have ADHD - no, you do not experience any of the things in my next bullet point.

•Don’t be hard on yourself if you stumble along the way getting this right. ADHD completely changes your executive functioning.

We see the task, but our brain blocks it.

We have something marked down as “important” but our brain tosses it out in the “trash”.

We watch an entire episode of a show, but our brain ignored the entire thing. Our brain picks and chooses what is stimulating, our brain changes our interests.

We have sensory overload, we have no dopamine, we have bursts of curiosity that cannot be contained (often inconvenient) and if interrupted, our brains cannot take it.

People often discount how many things ADHD actually changes because it’s widely misunderstood. I want to take the time to acknowledge that ADHD, formerly known as simply ADD, has different types: primarily inattentive, primarily hyperactive-impulsive, or combined which is what I have. So it’s not “hyper” and “relatable”. It is also not a buzzword to use to describe things. I must put stereotypes and misrepresentations of ADHD to rest.

It impacts us emotionally as well, which most people don’t know... such as rejection dysphoria — extreme sensitivity to being criticized to where our brains self destruct. Our brains don’t regulate emotions well.

ADHDers - do not fall victim to how everyone else operates and call yourself a failure. We have to work twice as hard and the results actually come out brilliant especially with our determination and imaginative ideas that are also seen in autistic individuals, honorable mention!

There’s good days and bad days. There’s literal changes in thinking that other people do not experience. We all collectively know wouldn’t be who we are without ADHD, but we all recognize the challenges. However, it makes me happy to see messages like this so that I can make a difference and hopefully help one person with ADHD, especially of color, at a time stop being so hard on themselves. 💗

[aer-in-wanderland]

구미호뎐 | Tale of the Nine Tailed - Lost in Translation EP03

The saga continues: part three in a series in which my sister and I pick our way through all the (mis)translations, humour, and cultural subtext that dropped from the fan-subbed version of TotNT. Thank you so much to everyone who bought us coffee - this one’s for you. ;) 

Before we begin, for anyone just joining us: EP01 / EP02. 

We pick up back where we left off last episode with Yeon dressing Ji Ah’s wound. 

Yeon’s line that’s subbed, “Stop being a crybaby” can be a bit hard to translate. The word he uses is ‘eomsal,’ which literally means, ‘the exaggeration of pain; feigning pain; a great fuss about nothing.’ So he’s essentially saying she’s overreacting. I'm not a fan of the use of the word ‘crybaby’ here though personally.

“Long time no see, Lee Yeon.” > > > 12 Hours Earlier.

We see Thirsty meet his ignominious end in a toilet (we never got character names for these guys so I’m just going to call them ‘Thirsty’ and ‘Hungry’).

Elsewhere on the island, Rang fishes a curse doll with the man’s picture on it out of the surf. That’s quite the atmospheric shot. Point to the director.

Episode 03 Title Card: The Secret of the Dragon King 

We open the following morning as Ji Ah and the man who found the body (who Ji Ah refers to as ‘Captain’) examine the scene.

Sub: “Being at sea wasn’t enough and he drowned himself to death.” I’m not sure that sentence even makes sense. I would have translated the man’s line as: “Ho~ Let no one say he wasn’t a seaman. He managed to kick the bucket by drowning [even on dry land].” 

Sub: “Talk about it being all for nothing. This is what he gets after throwing himself at his life.” Um, what now? The line is: “Human lives are so futile. And after he clung so viciously to life, too.”

Lol Yeon. “I see someone threw a party.” I like this sub. What he literally says though is: “Oh~ Looks like it was a really special night.” (‘special’ here is in English). 

Sub: “He smells like a stinky fish.” What Yeon literally says is: “Ugh, a smell like rotting fish is coming from this kid!” Yeon refers to the man as ‘yae,’ which literally means ‘this kid,’ but can also be used to refer to inanimate objects. So, either way...pfft

Appropriately, the BGM playing as Pyung Hee casts her curse is ‘Shaman.’

Back over to Yeon and Ji Ah as they investigate the body. The chyron on the screen reads: ‘The first survivor of the Milky Way (Deceased)’ Irony-(probably)-not-intended. 

We get another chyron not long after, over a shot of Pyung Hee’s father’s head being returned to shore that reads: ‘Seo Gi Chang (Died aboard the Milky Way)’

Lol None of this has stopped Yeon from nomming on his banana milk. I had thought the milk made him seem like a little kid, but according to Korean fans, it’s also, apparently, commonly enjoyed by old men. heh

Sub: “Besides, they’re not good looking enough.” This is a mistranslation. Yeon’s line is literally: “And besides, I don’t like the look of their faces.” What he means, though, is the feeling they give off, rather than their actual ‘looks.’ It’s a common expression in Korean. If I was translating instead of explaining, I would probably render this as, “I don’t like the look of them.”

As Ji Ah drags him out, however, Yeon can be heard saying, “Ah~ I judge people by their looks~!” I’m 98% sure this is another LDW ad lib. Basically, LDW made a joke of his previous line, as if to say Yeon cared about the look of them because they weren’t attractive enough, when really his line meant they seemed shady. It’s almost as if he predicted the bad sub...

We get a brief scene featuring the second (and only named) survivor of the Milky Way, Jin Shik. Oh, and his headless ‘visitor.’ Creepy.

The music underscoring Hungry gorging himself on raw meat is making everything worse (or possibly better, if disturbing is your jam)

I’ve said it before, but I would watch an entire series of Yeon and Ji Ah being a supernatural investigative duo.

Pfft Yeon refers to Seo Gi Chang as ‘the head’ (mogaji). I’m not sure if I should call that indelicate or irreverent. It’s a bit of both, really. 

Yeon’s line here is subbed as, “What happened on the boat?” but it should more properly be: “What did you do on the boat?” He’s not just asking after the sequence of events; the line is a clear accusation.

Sub: “We met an unexpected storm that day.” Actually: “Rough wind and waves hit the side of the fishing boat.” (i.e. causing it to capsize) 

I appreciate that Yeon sits back here and allows Ji Ah to take the lead. 

So, as it turns out, the 11th hell is actually a fishing boat (I’m sure the cast of 1N2D will back me up on this).

Fun fact: This sequence was filmed in a green screen pool and then made to look like the middle of the ocean with CG.

As an aside, I love that Ji Ah deduced the whole story on her own and that she uses that knowledge to corner Hungry psychologically. Also, that her strategy proves more effective than Yeon’s threat of violence. It’s not so much a ‘you catch more flies with honey,’ as a ‘brain over brawn’ sort of deal. 

Ji Ah: You were frightened, weren’t you? Twenty-eight days straight on a perilous life boat without water or food. They’re the perfect conditions for a person to go mad, aren’t they? First-degree burns from the hot August sun striking your body mercilessly, the boat pitching about all day; despite not having eaten, you feel as if you’ll throw up. Clenching your teeth and waiting to be rescued only works for a day or two. The more you think about it, the angrier you get. ‘Why, me? Why?!’ Around the fifth day was the crisis point. Since, in that time, not a drop of rain had fallen. Dehydration would have set in first. [...] But it’s odd, isn’t it? For having starved for 28 days, you lost too little body mass. [...] What did you eat?

Meanwhile, Yeon’s contribution to all of this is: “And you couldn’t have used a delivery app in the middle of the open ocean where there’s no wifi signal.” Pfft He has, of course, caught on to her strategy. As usual, though, he decides to take the cheeky route. 

Side note: I find it interesting that, in this universe full of monsters, the first incident Yeon and Ji Ah end up investigating together turns out to be an entirely human horror. 

Yo. Hungry deciding Ji Ah is food is just...ugh. Never trust a cannibal. 

Luckily for Ji Ah, her guard dog fox is on the job. 

Over to Rang, who asks a weeping Pyung Hee what she’ll give him in return for granting her ‘wish’. We don’t get to see her answer him, but it was included in the backstory collection.

It’s unclear to me just how much Rang is involved in ‘granting’ Pyung Hee’s wish. Like, is he the one fueling the curse somehow, or did he just teach her what she needed to know? I’m inclined to believe it’s more the latter. 

We cut to Taluipa at the Afterlife Immigration Office, who’s pissed that someone’s messing with her Death List. There’s a fun mythology-related chestnut in this scene: when Hyeonuiong comes running in, he’s carrying a watering can. Taluipa accuses him of having been watching dramas, but Hyeonuiong insists he was watering the Uiryeongsu. 

The chyron for it reads: ‘The Uiryeongsu. A tree that measures the sins of the dead by the weight of their clothes when they’re hung on it.’ The hanja for ‘Uiryeongsu’ (衣領樹) literally mean ‘clothing-amount-tree,’ so its name is essentially its function. In traditional mythology, it grows on the near bank of the Samdocheon. This is also the same tree that the Uiryeong’geom (geom = sword) mentioned in EP13 is made from.

“You watered a tree for 3 hours?” Pfft Hyeonuiong and watering can, exit stage right. 

Minor detail: I just realized I can actually see from Taluipa’s List in this scene that one of the two fishermen is named Kim Gil Sang. Still not sure which one though, so I’m going to stick to calling them Hungry and Thirsty. 

The Dragon King Scroll

Back over to Ji Ah, who examines a creepy scroll hanging in Jin Shik’s vacant quarters. Once again, the show cuts into its own dramatic tension with a moment of levity as Yeon startles both Ji Ah and me by popping open his bag of snacks with a massive bang. The contrast between Ji Ah, who’s in serious investigator mode, and Yeon, who just continues his one-gumiho snack parade, blasé as can be, adds humour to an otherwise grim situation. 

Yeon’s response of, “Oh. Sorry.” is in English, making it sound, if possible, even less sincere.

On the off chance that anyone was wondering, the snack Yeon claims as his favorite here is 솜짱 (somjjang). According to the Korean fans again, this is also a food commonly enjoyed by elderly people.

Subs: “Do you know how many people in Joseon died during the 50 years of war? 3.5 million. I’ve seen more deaths than all the funeral companies in this country.” This is another case of diagonal translation. Yeon’s line is more properly: 

Yeon: Between the Imjin War and the Manchu War, do you know how much of the population of Joseon-era Korea was lost in just 50 years? 3,500,000. I’m a guy who’s seen more funerals than all the funerary companies in Korea put together.  

[Note: Yeon is talking about The Japanese Invasions a.k.a The Imjin War (1592-1598) and The Qing Invasion of Joseon a.k.a. The Manchu War (1636)]

As a linguistic aside, Yeon refers to himself here as a ‘nom’ (rhymes with ‘home’). If you read the breakdown of EP02, you’ll recall that ‘nom’ can mean anything from ‘guy’ to ‘bastard.’ It’s not that Yeon means to call himself a bastard, though. It’s only that the typical alternative here (i.e. ‘person’) carries the implication of 'human.’ Since Yeon is, of course, not human, he opts for ‘nom’ instead. The word gets a lot of mileage in this show in relation to all the supernaturals for that reason. 

Lol This exchange about the Dragon King was great. Point to the writer. I would translate it as: 

Yeon: You’re right, but it looks nothing like him. 

Ji Ah: You’ve...seen him? 

Yeon: Back when I was a mountain god. Well, in today’s terms you’d say we attended a leadership conference together. They over-glamorized him. He’s not this good looking.

Ji Ah’s reaction is perfect too. Her, ‘I don’t even know where to begin with that statement so I’m just going to move on’ look came across loud and clear. 

Yeon’s line as he leans over Ji Ah’s shoulder is subbed: “This is just like ‘Where’s Wally?’” In Korea, the game is called ‘find the hidden picture’ (‘sumun keurim chatgi’). So the line is actually: “What is this, ‘find the hidden picture’ or something?” I’d say there’s a 50/50 chance this line was another ad lib by Lee Dong Wook.

On an entirely different cultural note, ‘Where’s Wally?’ is know as ‘Where’s Waldo?’ in North America and exactly nowhere else. Don’t ask... 

This scene features the first mention we get of Imoogi. Imoogi are among the most famous Korean mythical creatures. In most tellings, they are essentially proto-dragons, though occasionally they can be baby dragons. For example, one imoogi tale claims its imoogi was the son of the Dragon King (the same one Yeon attended a ‘leadership conference’ with). Most of the lore agrees that if an imoogi stays submerged in deep water for a thousand years, it earns the chance to become a dragon, though the caveats vary widely, and many imoogi fail. Finally, while the imoogi in TotNT is evil, imoogi aren’t categorically so; some are good, some aren’t.

Rang and the Mudang

Fun fact: Kim Beom explained in his Instagram LIVE that he chose to wear a red suit partially because the color gave off the feeling of a villain, but also because it contrasted well with the green of the forest. He also named this as his favorite Lee Rang outfit.

For anyone keeping track, Rang speaks to the mudang in banmal. She, in return, addresses him as ‘Lee Rang-nim’ and speaks very respectfully.

Okay, there are a couple of things to unpack in Rang’s following exchange with the mudang: 

Mudang: The Corrupt God, King of the Wicked. He is Lee Ryong-nim.

Rang: [Laughs] What’s with that? Ugh, I seriously just cringed! If you slap a fancy title* from the next world in front of its name, does a snake become a dragon?

First, the mudang’s line here is said in an archaic cant. Second, ‘Lee Ryong’ (properly pronounced, ‘i-ryong,’ since there’s actually no ‘L’ in ‘Lee’), is another name for imoogi.

Finally, when Rang says ‘a fancy title from the next world,’ he’s referring to a posthumous name/title. Nearly every kingdom to have occupied the Korean peninsula has used posthumous titles (시호), most often for deceased royalty. By giving one to Imoogi, the mudang is venerating him. Rang mocks this, seizing on Imoogi’s failure to become a dragon. (Let no one say he and Yeon aren’t brothers).

The subs have Rang referring to Yeon as just ‘Yeon,’ but he actually calls him ‘Lee Yeon.’ That’s a very impersonal way to refer to one’s older brother, which is, of course, intentional on Rang’s part. It serves as another linguistic cue to the audience as to how Rang regards Yeon at this point. 

A note on the evening primrose: tvN released a short blurb about it, since, as far as I can tell, the mythology was invented for the show. It reads: 

Evening primrose that has grown while feeding on the blood and flesh of corpses is the same as poison to gumiho; if they so much as touch its powder, their bodies catch flame.

While the subs consistently just say ‘evening primrose,’ this should more properly be ‘burial ground evening primrose,’ which is how the various characters refer to it. 

Fun fact: ‘Evening primrose’ in Korean is ‘dalmaji-kkot’ (달맞이꽃), which means ‘flowers that welcome the moon’. 

Sub: “Half-brothers, to be exact.” The term Rang uses in Korean is quite literally, ‘brothers from different stomachs,’ so it refers specifically to half brothers who share a father but who have different mothers. I mention it only because Korean viewers will have been given slightly more information about their familial relationship here than was provided in the subs. 

Back over to our leads, as Yeon urges Ji Ah to leave the island post-haste. His line is subbed: “I’m saying you may die if you stay here.” That’s a perfectly fine translation. For anyone curious, though, his line is quite literally: “I’m saying if you stay here, [the conditions are] perfect for dying.” 

Sub: “That’s none of your business.” Yeon’s line is more properly: “That’s not for you to know.”

Ji Ah’s response to this is very literally: “I have no intention to go home for a reason I don’t know. So Lee Yeon should find the person Lee Yeon came here to find. I have to know why my parents came to this island.” This is the first time Ji Ah uses Yeon’s full name as a second person pronoun (so basically to mean ‘you’) when speaking to him. It’s hard to make generalizations about any form of address that don’t have multiple exceptions, but in this case, using his name is a more neutral, and somewhat more familiar, alternative to some of the other pronouns she’s been using when speaking to him. To my sense, it softens her rejection of his advice a little bit.

Back to Rang. His line is a bit awkward to translate, but essentially what he says is, ‘Calling my brother a ‘mountain god’ is an overstatement/ putting it nicely.’ I might approximate this as, ‘Sure, my brother was called a mountain god.’ This is the only time in the entire drama that Rang refers to Yeon as ‘uri hyung,’ and it kills me a bit that it’s not out of fondness, but rather derision. ㅠㅠ

Similarly, when Rang says, “I’m a fox, after all. I have to repay eunhye properly,” he is, of course, using eunhye sarcastically.

The subtitle here once again says ‘the underworld,’ but Rang’s line is actually: “I’m going to go to hell, without fail. Together with Lee Yeon.” The subs really need to do a better job of distinguishing between hell and the afterlife. 

We see Ji Ah instruct Jae Hwan over the phone as to what to search for in the library records. She’s split off from Yeon since we last saw them. 

Elsewhere on the island, Yeon also makes a call, only his is to Halmeom (Taluipa) to ask about Imoogi. When this episode first aired, I thought it was odd that Yeon was using ‘Imoogi’ as if it were a name, since this would be like referring to Yeon as ‘Gumiho.’ He later taunts Terry-Imoogi about just that though (i.e. not even having a proper name), so obviously it was an intentional decision on the writer’s part. 

Sub: “If by chance Ah Eum was born again into this world, I can’t let that thing coexist with her.” This sub went a bit sideways. The ‘by chance’ has been mis-attributed. The line is properly: “There’s no way I could possibly (i.e. by any chance/under no circumstances can I) let such a thing exist in a world in which Ah Eum has been reborn.” Yeon is already sure that Ah Eum has been reborn at this point. He’s saying that because she’s been reborn, he can’t allow Imoogi to coexist with her under any circumstances.

Rang vs Ji Ah

Ji Ah returns to Pyung Hee’s to find ‘Pyung Hee’ reading Moby Dick. This is an ironic enough choice of literature to clue her in to the fact that this isn’t really Pyung Hee. Smart cookie. 

On a character note, I loved that Ji Ah’s knowledge of, and love for, world literature was threaded believably throughout the drama in a way in which it feels natural that she caught on to Rang’s hint here. Point to the writer. 

Again, for anyone keeping track, Ji Ah and Rang speak to each other in banmal, as has been the case since Rang revealed himself at Ji Ah’s house in EP01. Not because they’re close, obviously, but because they have zero respect for one another. It’s a bit of a power play on Ji Ah’s part, too, since she’s (hundreds of years) younger. 

Over to Yeon, who barges into the local market owner’s personal quarters to interrogate him. His line when he catches sight of the scroll on the wall is subbed: “Look at this.” This should more properly be: “Check these people out. There’s one here too.” The word he uses that I translated as ‘these people’ is ‘i-geot-dul,’ which is very literally ‘these things,’ so I sort of understand the confusion in the subs. He means the islanders though, not the scrolls. In contrast, ‘there’s one here too’ does actually refer to the scroll.

The knife Yeon throws hits directly over the slit pupil of the scroll dragon’s eye. Nice aim.

Back to Ji Ah and Rang. When Ji Ah accuses Rang of orchestrating the deaths of the Milk Way survivors, ‘to distract us,’ what she says quite literally is ‘to cover our eyes and ears.’

When Rang applauds Ji Ah’s deductive abilities, his line is subbed, “Awesome.” This should more properly be, “Outstanding,” or, “Exceptional.” I honestly believe he’s being sincere in his praise. Being Rang, though, he’s probably just delighted this makes her more challenging to toy with.

Having completed his interrogation, Yeon’s eyes change as he erases the man’s memory of the event. I suspect the reason Yeon is so cavalier about revealing he’s a gumiho is because he can basically ‘undo’ it whenever he wants using this power.

Ji Ah’s quiet, “I decline” is so satisfying. Also the way Rang pulls back in surprise haha I guess he’s not used to being turned down. 

Rang’s exchange with Ji Ah is subbed as: “Loosen up. Why be so stiff when it’s just good old me?” / “Let me give you some advice since that’s how you feel. Don’t gamble with another’s tragedy just for kicks. There’s a word for people like you, you know. A colossal jerk.” This is difficult to translate, and I think the subs have done a pretty good job, but a closer translation would be:

Rang: Augh— So uptight! Are you going to keep acting this uptight, just between us* (literally, ‘between you and me’)? 

Ji Ah: Between you and me, then, I’ll give you just one word of advice: Don’t carelessly role the dice atop others’ misfortune. People call jerks like you ‘sleazy bastards.’ 

[*Note: Rang’s phrasing implies that they’re somehow close/on good terms, but he’s being sarcastic, of course.]

First off, the word Rang uses for ‘uptight’ (빡빡하다) means ‘stiff; uptight; rigid; inflexible; strict.’ By this, he’s referring to how she never lets her guard down. I don’t know that any of those words properly conveys that, though. 

Second, while I translated Ji Ah’s line about the dice very literally here (in keeping with the spirit of this post), I actually like how the subs handled it from a translation/subtitling standpoint. 

Finally, the subs have Ji Ah calling Rang ‘a colossal jerk,’ but the term she actually uses (‘yang’achi saekki’) is a much stronger expletive. ‘Yang’achi’ is a term for a thug, gangster, or hoodlum. ‘Saekki’ literally means ‘child of.’ In practical use, though, it’s close to ‘bastard.’ (I really didn’t think I’d be explaining the finer points of Korean expletives when I started this series, but here we are). I approximated this as ‘sleazy bastard’ above. 

Pfft Rang being genuinely offended at Ji Ah’s language. Jo Bo Ah talked a bit about what she thought of all the explicit language Ji Ah uses towards Rang in her wrap interview. 

Subs: “When he finds what he wants, you’ll be begging for mercy.” No idea where they got 'begging for mercy.’ What Rang actually says is, “When he  finds what he wants, you’ll see hell.” Unlike in the subtitle, Rang’s warning actually has substance to it, since he’s referring to the fact that, once Yeon identifies Ji Ah as Ah Eum’s reincarnation, their fate with Imoogi will repeat itself. 

By the time Yeon rushes back to Pyung Hee’s, Rang is long gone. His line subbed as: “What did he say?” is, quite literally, “Lee Rang, that nom, what’d he say?” This use of ‘nom’ manages to come off as fairly mild. (He may be a jerk, but he’s Yeon’s jerk). 

Ji Ah’s response has undergone cultural translation to become: “Even when I order pizza, I never go for half-and-half. I always choose just one.” Honestly, though, I don’t know that it was necessary. What she actually says is: “Even when I order chicken, I don’t go for half-seasoned, half-fried; I’m the type to just pick one.”

This scene was originally longer but part of it got deleted. They released the clip, though, so I’ll translate the full exchange here:

Ji Ah: I'm saying I turned him down, your younger brother. Since I bet on this fox.  

Yeon: Let no one say you aren’t a learned (wise) woman. Is that all?  

Rang (voiceover): Don't trust Lee Yeon too much.  

Ji Ah: That's all. But...you said the two of you are brothers.

Yeon: Yeah. We’re brothers. 

Ji Ah: Why are you so hellbent on destroying each other? 

Yeon: It seems like you don’t know since you’re an only child, but, as a rule, the relationship between siblings is a lot like noir, just without the guns.

Ji Ah: There you go, deflecting the question again. Is that a secret, too? 

Yeon: If you ever happen to run into that guy again just the two of you, no matter what, run fast. That kid* despises humans. Especially humans that look like you. 

Ji Ah: Why do you keep taking cracks at people's faces?

Yeon: ...I'm hungry.  

Ji Ah: Why don’t you take the opportunity to pack up and leave while you still can? Your younger brother...it seems he’s preparing some sort of special event. 

Yeon: That’s what I’m waiting for.

*Note: The word Yeon uses that I translated as ‘kid’ is ‘jashik.’ This is another word that, depending on how it’s used, can either be fond or rude. ‘Jashik’ literally means ‘[one’s] child,’ but it’s also commonly used in the sense of ‘punk.’ It’s a bit softer than nom. You wouldn’t use it to refer to yourself, though. 

Ji Ah’s “Why do you keep taking cracks at people’s faces?” (meaning he’s insulting/taking issue with how she looks), is referencing their exchange the previous night when he told her not to smile because she was ugly.

We cut briefly to Shin Joo eating at the Snail Bride as he sizes up Yoo Ri from a distance. Come to think of it, we never got this BGM for the Snail Bride, either...

Ramen Heart-to-Heart

Lee Yeon’s one-gumiho meokbang continues. I feel like Yeon has been nomming on something in nearly every scene this episode. 

The BGM while Yeon and Ji Ah eat is a remix of Yeon’s theme, ‘The Fox’s Wedding Day.’

Sub: “Just because these ladies wear baggy pants in floral prints doesn’t mean they have kind hearts. Get digging, and you’ll find all sorts of dirty secrets.” Yeon’s line is more literally: 

Yeon: Living is all the same [everywhere]~ Just because grannies in the countryside wear flower-patterned pants doesn’t mean that even their insides are flower-patterned. If you start digging, venomous and insidious years come pouring out. 

Ji Ah’s response then plays off of Yeon’s turn of phrase: “Is that the case for you too? I just wondered, ‘With what pattern did you live all those long years?’” (referring to the ‘pattern’ of his heart).

On a minor cultural note: the word Yeon uses is ‘mombbae pants’ (몸빼바지), which are a fashion(?) staple in the countryside. You’ll know what I mean if you run the hangeul through a google image search. That’s where the subs got ‘baggy’ from even though Yeon doesn’t explicitly say it. 

Sub: “Why have you been searching for your parents all this time?” Yeon’s line is more properly: “Then what about you? What has made you wait for your parents for such a long time?” 

Sub: “I’m the same. I’m waiting for the one I miss.” I would have translated this as: “I’m waiting for someone I miss,” which is literally what he says. 

Sub: “Why did you part ways when you still miss her this much?” This is a bit hard to translate into natural-sounding English. The word Ji Ah uses is ‘mi’ryeon,’ which means ‘lingering attachment.’ So her line is quite literally: “Your face is so full of lingering attachment, how did you come to part ways/break up?”

Sub: “The first being I loved was a human girl who ended up dying. It’s why I’m still hung up on her. Happy now?” Hmm... I would translate Yeon’s line as:

Yeon: My damn* first love was a human of all things, but she died, so I’m foolishly unable to let go of my lingering attachment. Happy now? 

[*Note: Yeon is cursing is the phenomenon of first love itself, not Ah Eum.]

His statement is witty, because the word he uses for ‘foolish’ is also pronounced ‘mi’ryeon.’ In this case, though, 'mi’ryeon’ means, ‘foolhardy and dense enough to be stubborn to a preposterous degree.’ Which is probably a fair assessment given he’s been waiting 600 years. The sub for this line made it sound like he’s saying, ‘I’m hung up on her because she’s a human girl who died,’ which would just be weird. 

Shin Joo Meets Yoo Ri

Okay, minor detail, but what exactly was Yoo Ri trying to accomplish here before Shin Joo stopped her from entering an off-limits area of the Snail Bride?

The BGM here is called ‘Skip a Beat’ (‘Kanju Jump’). I found the track title slightly surprising since it’s actually taken from an ad lib made by Kim Yong Ji (Yoo Ri) in a later episode. 

For anyone keeping track, Shin Joo and Yoo Ri are speaking in a mix of banmal and jondaetmal in this scene.

We next see Shin Joo on the phone with Yeon, whining about the whole ordeal and asking an unsympathetic Yeon to come back and retrieve his necklace for him.

Yeon’s line that’s subbed as, “Deadly?” could mean more than one thing. The line is literally, “What? The thief was deadly?” The word for ‘deadly,’ though, could equally mean that she was a knockout (i.e. gorgeous). It’s probably a bit of both.

Subs: “There’s nothing more pathetic than being blinded by a woman’s beauty...” / “But you also ruined your life by falling for beautiful woman.”  For the record, neither of them actually uses the word ‘beauty/beautiful’ here. I would translate this exchange as: 

Yeon: You... The most pathetic thing in the world, is being blinded by a woman, and... 

Shin Joo: But being blinded by a woman and wrecking your life is something Lee Yeon-nim did too, isn’t it? 

Yeon: What, you punk?!

Lol Yeon’s “What, you punk?!” is a familiar refrain whenever Shin Joo unwittingly(?) insults Yeon. The word is ‘imma’ (임마) or sometimes ‘inma’ (인마). Yeon consistently uses the former.

‘Bad Fate’

Subs: “Why is that branch broken? It must’ve hurt.” Yeon is actually personifying the tree here, which makes sense seeing as he can communicate with it. So his line is more literally: “Now why has this kid gone and made a fuss breaking [his] branch? It must’ve hurt.” Which is cute.

I actually really appreciated this short scene of Yeon healing the tree. Yeon may no longer be the master of Baekdudaegan, but this scene showed that it’s still very much a part of who he is; not just his powers, but the care he has for the forest. 

Fun (?) fact: It turns out this simple scene was actually a huge pain to film. 

Subs: “I hope you grow well.” Actually: “Eat well and grow well.” I realize that sounds awkward in English, but the line is a directive. He’s once again speaking to the tree. 

Sub: “The wind is blowing from the northwest. Something is coming.” I would have translated this as: “A northwest wind blows... Something is coming.” That’s partly a tonal choice, but it’s also a more literal reflection of the original Korean. 

We finally catch back up to the end of EP02, as Jae Hwan calls Ji Ah from the library to tell her what he’s found. This time, we see her connect the first dead body in 1954 to what the forest spirit told them more explicitly. 

The dates of the four incidents are: August 13, 1954; August 25, 1961; September 6, 1979; and September 7, 1987. Ji Ah quickly deduces that these all work out to be the same date on the lunar calendar: July 15th. In 2020, that works out to be Wednesday, September 2nd. If you’ll recall, the wedding at the start of EP01 was held on August 29, so it’s only been 3 days since Yeon and Ji Ah crossed paths at the wedding hall. 

“Long time no see, Lee Yeon.” What is it with Imoogi and choking Yeon?

Subs: “You should’ve let me go.”  More precisely: “I know, right? You should have let me go.”

Yeon’s final “What are you?” should probably have been subbed as: “I’m asking what you are!” since both his tone and phrasing have grown more insistent. 

Subs: Our ill-fated relationship would’ve ended if you hadn’t stopped the boat from crossing the Samdo River. More literally:

Jimoogi: Our ak’yeon should have ended. That is, if only you hadn’t stopped the boat from crossing the Samdocheon. 

The word the subs translated as ‘our ill-fated relationship’ is ‘ak’yeon’ (悪縁), which literally means ‘bad fate.’ In contrast to the broader, ‘destiny’ sort of fate (‘un’myeong’) however, ‘yeon’ (縁) is inherently relational. It refers specifically to the fate between two people (or even between a person and a place). ‘Ak’ (悪) means ‘evil.’ So 'ill-fated’ is a bit misleading as a translation since the word actually refers to the relationship between Yeon and Imoogi (i.e. mortal enemies), rather than the fact that Yeon and Ah Eum’s story ended tragically (as in, ‘an ill-fated love’). 

WAIT. Subs: “No. That woman is born with a face that only I can recognize. And I don’t see it in you.” What?? That doesn’t even make sense. Yeon’s line is: 

Yeon: No. That woman is born carrying a sign that only I can recognize. You don’t have it. 

Obviously, Yeon is referring to the fox bead, and I’m fairly sure that was apparent since the line was intercut with the scene in which he imparts the bead to Ah Eum, but that seems like a pretty critical line to fudge up. 

Jimoogi: “You really don’t know anything, do you, Lee Yeon?” It’s weird to me that they have Imoogi addressing Yeon as just ‘Yeon’ in the subs. That makes it seem like they’re friends or something...

Subs: “The scar is gone.” Actually: “The wound disappeared.” 

Deadball

Subs: “We hate each other too much to play catch. I actually meant to kill you.” Wait, WHAT?! Yeon’s line is: 

Yeon: Our relationship is too makjang for that. That was meant to be a deadball, actually. 

Makjang, for the uninitiated, is a slang word taken from the phrase ‘the final scene’ (‘majimak jangmyeon’) that has come to refer to an entire genre, as well as particular dramatic elements or conventions of Korean storytelling. Dramabeans explain the term here. When Yeon says his relationship with Rang is ‘makjang,’ he’s essentially saying it’s overly fraught, not that he hates his brother. 

He also doesn’t say he meant to kill Rang. ‘Deadball’ is a Korean baseball term for a pitch that hits a player (typically causing the game to be paused). So Yeon’s just saying he meant for the ‘ball’ to hit Rang, rather than for Rang to catch it. 

On a personal note, it really bothers me when the subs spread all over the internet and they’re wrong like this. I don’t mind slight changes in phrasing or wording, but when they grossly misrepresent the characters like this it can be a bit upsetting. It’s no wonder I sometimes feel like I watched a completely different drama. ㅠㅠ

Yeon’s cheeky smile™ XD

The BGM in this scene is actually ‘The Forest of the Agwi.’

Subs: “Run away.” Yeon’s line is quite literally: ‘Get away from here,’ or even, ‘put distance between here and you.’ I mention it because I really appreciated that, despite all the danger she confronts, Yeon never once tells Ji Ah to ‘run away’ (‘domang ga’). His second ‘run away’ in the subs is also just him telling her to hurry up (literally ‘go quickly’).

The following banter between the brothers is something I mentioned in an ask a while back because all the humour had been lost in translation. To recap, though, one recurring joke the show uses plays off the word for ‘bastard/son of a bitch,’ which translates literally as ‘child of a dog’ (kae-saekki). As you might imagine, this gets a lot of mileage in relation to Rang, our resident ‘baby fox’ (agi yeou) a.k.a. ‘child of a fox’ (yeou-saekki):

Rang: This is domestic violence, you know?

Yeon: (Nodding) They say you’re supposed to raise wild children* with a firm hand (literally: hit them as you raise them), but I couldn’t do that, so I ended up raising a fox child into a dog child (son of a bitch), didn’t I?

Rang: And who was the jerk who kicked that child (saekki) to the curb? You treat me like a stray dog any chance you get. 

Yeon: My little brother, I’ll have to gift you a muzzle this Christmas. 

Rang’s line was subbed: “You keep blaming it on me, when you were the one who turned me into an orphan.” which I find fairly problematic since that makes it sound like Yeon killed Rang’s parents. It’s also just plain wrong; to the extent that I’m not even sure what went wrong in the translation process. 

The word Yeon uses here for ‘wild children’ is ‘horo jashik’ (호로자식), which many Koreans understand to mean something like a barbarian child, but the true origin, as it turns out, is a parentless child. It’s also a term used predominantly by elderly people heh

Finally, because the dog jokes dropped out ‘muzzle’ became ‘mouth guard’ in the subs, which is both less funny and less sensical. The two are also conceptually opposed, since ‘muzzle’ implies that Yeon means to protect the world from Rang whereas ‘mouth guard’ is more about protecting Rang.

As Ji Ah continues to put distance between herself and the brothers, she happens upon the mudang’s house, which she immediately clocks as such from the obangi. 

I like that Ji Ah doesn’t immediately call the mudang out for lying, but instead continues to question her knowing she’s lying. Sometimes the lies people tell can be as telling as the truth. 

When Ji Ah questions her, the mudang tells her the fishing ritual is held during the ‘Ghost Festival’. This is a Buddhist festival similar to All Souls Day. In Korean it’s called ‘Baek Joong Nal’ (literally ‘hundred-gather-day’) meaning ‘the day when all the spirits gather.’ It falls on the full moon of the seventh lunar month (so July 15th of the lunar calendar), which is, of course, the date Ji Ah identified as the day when the murders were taking place. That’s why we get the zoom in and the flash to the newspaper dates: Ji Ah has put everything together. 

Chyron: “Obangi (五方旗) A five-colored flag symbolizing ‘life, death, illness, sacrifice, and ancestors’”. This is the quick quotes version. Obangi have their roots in the Chinese philosophy of Wuxing, but for more on that, I’ll refer you to Wikipedia. In Korea, the colors of the obangi (red, blue, white, black, and yellow) are known as the five orientation colors, and are closely tied to both shamanism and fortune telling. You’ll notice these same colors flying outside the fortune teller’s in EP06.

I also appreciated that Ji Ah didn’t just foolishly drink the tea here. She was properly on her guard. It’s only that she mis-identified the source of danger.

Back over to our fox brothers. Rang’s line is subbed: “That was plenty of time.” This is more properly: “I think I’ve bought more than enough time by now.” So he’s actually quite overt in telling Yeon exactly what he'd been up to.  

Subs: “Don’t you know why she ended up on this island?” More closely: “Do you still not get it? Why that woman ended up coming to this island of all places?” 

We see the mudang encircle the creepy well with burial ground evening primrose to ward against Yeon, who is currently searching the island for Ji Ah to no avail. 

Subs: “You tricked your mom while you were in her womb.” This is a bit difficult to translate. The word the mudang uses that was translated as ‘tricked’ is ‘ggweda,’ which means to ‘lure’ or ‘entice.’ So what she means is that the part of Imoogi that was reincarnated with Ji Ah ‘lured’ her mother to the island by sending her recurring dreams. 

Gumiho

Lol Yeon: “I am the original mountain spirit, the master of the mountains and streams. Lift this darkness and lead me to her!” This is more literally:

Yeon: I am the original mountain god, the master of your mountains and streams.* Part this darkness and lead me to that woman!

[*Note: ‘Mountains and streams’ here can also be taken to mean ‘nature’ at large.]

Lol The line is met with silence and the soft hoot of a lone owl. That’s basically the director’s version of *crickets* isn’t it?

This line is another rare case in which Yeon speaks archaically, and it serves to make the command sound more formal and potentially magical. It’s also worth noting that he’s addressing the forest directly as a whole here (thus the ‘your’). 

Fun fact: When Lee Dong Wook did his TotNT VLIVE, his promotional team made him perform this line again live just to mess with him haha

The BGM here as Yeon heads off through the forest led by his (supernatural?) fireflies is ‘Opening Title: The Legend of the Fox.’ It sounds vaguely Harry Potter-ish to me (not complaining). 

For the record, Ji Ah is now speaking to the mudang in banmal out of disdain. 

Sub: “Be a sacrifice. You are a very special child.” Pfft ‘Be a sacrifice’ sounds oddly funny to me. Her line is: “Become a sacrifice. I’m told you’re a very special child.” So the implication is that this information came from someone/something else. 

Does anyone know what BGM this is as Yeon sprints though the forest? I think it might be another unreleased track, but I’m not positive...

Yeon’s “Halt!” is once again in olden speech. It indicates linguistically that he's in Gumiho mode.  

Out of curiosity, is it not odd for people watching with subs when Ji Ah’s only utterance is ‘Lee Yeon’ but the subs just say ‘Yeon’? 

Subs: “This has nothing to do with the old master of the mountain. Why don’t you keep walking?” I would have translated this as: “It is a matter unrelated to the former master of the mountain. Beg, go along your way.” She’s once again using olden-speech in her second sentence.

Lol Sub: “Says the living corpse.” I like this sub. Yeon’s line is quite literally: “With the ‘juje’ of a living corpse...” ‘Juje’ is essentially your station or lot in life, and it’s used almost exclusively derogatorily. 

Sub: “Who was it that provided you with longevity you don’t deserve?” More closely: “Who was it? The one who gave you a lifespan so much longer than you deserve?”

Yeon: “I asked you whom you serve!” (literally ‘what’ you serve). Yeon once again drops into an archaic cant for this line. It serves to underline his full age and gives his demand an extra air of authority. 

Yeon’s TAILS. I can’t believe this was the last we saw of them. ㅠㅠ Personally, I interpreted the firey tails as being a sort of ‘shadow’/ projection of his actual tails, which I assumed were actually more physically there (since he talks about shampooing them in the teaser interview). My sister thinks differently, though. Guess we’ll never know...

The BGM for this sequence is naturally ‘Gumiho.’ If you read our EP01 breakdown, you’ll know I was fully expecting this to be Yeon’s theme. But no, it’s the whimsical 'The Fox’s Wedding Day’ instead haha

Okay, Yeon just casually smiting the mudang is pretty badass. Seeing as he can command lightning, I’m pretty sure he was joking when he told Ji Ah, ‘even gumiho are afraid of electricity.’ 

If by chance you wondered what was going though Yeon’s mind when he smote the mudang, it’s featured in the EP03 subtitle poster.

I appreciated that Yeon just accepts Ji Ah at her word here when she tells him all she needs from him is one arm for support. I feel like in most dramas the male lead would have just forcefully swept the heroine off her feet amidst her protests, which I always find more problematic than romantic.

For that matter, when it became clear that Ji Ah really did need help, I appreciated that she didn’t act shy or coy and just accepted being carried without making a big deal of it. 

Pfft The way Ji Ah’s eyes flash when Yeon tells her the mudang was just a human being says it all. 

Yeon: “So you say... Excuse me, but you nearly died just now, you know?” This line is once again cheekily in jondaetmal.

*Ominous close up of the well*

Thank You

We catch up with Shin Joo at the supermarket as he talks to Yeon over the phone. 

Shin Joo’s ‘PD-nim’ has once again become, ‘the director lady’ in the subs. *Sigh*

Subs: “Your love story is more than just famous among us.” Actually: “Just how famous is Lee Yeon-nim’s love story in our world? It’s obvious your younger brother* must have been playing tricks!” 

Shin Joo refers to Rang here as ‘donsaeng-bun’ (younger sibling + polite word for person) for the same reason he calls Rang, ‘Lee Rang-nim.’ It’s an extension of his regard for Yeon, rather than for Rang himself.

Lol Shin Joo hanging up on Yeon. His love for supermarkets and fried chicken are actually in his character profile. Apparently, they’re what convinced him living as a human was worth the existential crisis that came with it. 

Sub: “I’m too much of a human to easily fall asleep after such an event. Join me.” More literally: “I’m human, so on a day like today I can’t sleep sober. You* have a glass, too.”

The word Ji Ah uses for ‘you’ here is ‘ja’ne’ (자네), which is a polite term... except it’s only used to refer to people younger than you. So’s she’s talking down to him politely haha This is what prompts Yeon’s line that follows it:

Sub: “I never said anything since it could make seem old-fashioned, but you’re too informal with me when you don’t even know my age.”

 Yeon: I kept holding it in thinking you’d call me an old fart, but you’re [using] banmal really blatantly. Just how old do you think I am?”

Yeon’s ‘Just how old do you think I am?’ is rhetorical. It’s not that Ji Ah is necessarily unaware of his true age, but rather that she acts as if she is. 

Sub: “Those over 60 are universally considered as grandpas.” Actually: “You know everyone over 60 can be called a grandpa, right?”

Pfft Sub: “Be as informal as you like.” What Yeon literally says is, “Please lower your speech,” but he uses very respectful language to say it. I’m not sure if he’s being sarcastic, or if he just hates the thought of being considered a grandpa that much haha It’s probably a bit of both.

Aww Ji Ah promising to protect Yeon. I luff her. 

Ji Ah: "Do I perhaps have something you’re looking for?” I love that she doesn’t miss a thing.

Lol Yeon: “Who am I, Jesus? Just drink what you have.” 

The Vanishing

Subs: “Don’t ever resort to cursing people again. Karma can sting.” Quite literally: “You were lucky you kept your life, but don’t do such a thing* as cursing others ever again. They return, you know. Back on the one who casts them.” 

*Yeon uses the disparagement marker ‘ddaui’ (따위) to refer to the act of cursing someone here. You may recall it from our EP01 breakdown. 

Ji Ah chooses this moment to come running in to announce that the island has turned into a ghost town over night, which is enough to make even Yeon pause, perplexed.  

I love the way Yeon and Ji Ah exchange looks here on the dock. They don’ t know what’s up yet, but they intend to find out. 

‘Blue Moon’~~~ This worked great scored over the drone-camera pan out. I may be slightly biased, though.  

And that concludes Episode 3. Once again, thank you to everyone who commented or left feedback on the last episode! Never hesitate to send me your thoughts, even if they’re just to say what you found funny or surprising. It helps me to know what’s of interest for one thing, but I also just enjoy chatting about the show. ;)

A brief note on pronunciation/notation: for words like ‘sa’ingeom’ and ‘mi’ryeon,’ the apostrophe is there just as a pronunciation guide. So in the case of the former, to indicate that it’s pronounced ‘sah-in’ and not ‘sine’ or ‘sane.’ Similarly, for the latter, the apostrophe is just to indicate that this should be pronounced ‘mi-ryeon’ and not ‘mir-yeon.’ I could have just as easily done this with ‘Hyeon’ui’ong’ except that’s a lot of apostrophes and I set an earlier precedent of not. It’s not an aspiration or anything fancy. Hopefully that makes sense. 

Once again, I’d like to credit my sister for being the main researcher and fact-checker for these, in addition to weighing in on all the translations. I don’t always take her advice, but I do always appreciate it haha. 

Thank you also to everyone who bought us coffee! Your support is truly felt and appreciated ♡ As usual, this took an ungodly amount of time, so every coffee helps haha. For anyone just joining us (or not), if you’d like to see more of these, please consider buying us a coffee. If you follow the link, you can buy a $2 cup of virtual coffee. This helps me to gauge how much interest there is, and also how much value people place on these. If you cared enough to read all the way to the end, please at least consider it. Once I’ve established there’s enough interest, I’ll proceed with Episode 4. ;)

[twistedblud]

FINE LINE SERIES

Part 1: Adore You

pairing: dom x female!reader

description: a couple who fell in love and got married — very young and now with a kid. always told they were young and naïve. where did they go wrong?

warning(s): a hint of fluff, the tiniest bit of angst? just a moment of vulnerability is all. nothing too big coming up until the third part! 

a/n: my first series and i’m kindaaa nervous haha. but if you like it i’d appreciate if you left a comment, like, or reblog. it helps a lot. also, lyrics won’t be in exact order, just whenever they relate to the descriptions.

series masterlist & series playlist

“Y/N! He’s here! Up, let’s go!” Antonio called out. You huffed, only audible to yourself, at the words coming from your boss’ mouth and quickly got up from the seat at the vanity. You got your station prepped, making sure everything from the powder to the eyeliner were present. You couldn’t afford to be back and forth between the stock room looking for anything you may have missed. 

A few more hours. 

A few more hours.

After this shoot you leave, Y/N.

It had been a busy Thursday afternoon with Antonio and the first shift staff at your work, throwing out demands on top of demands. Now it was just after one in the afternoon and you were over the day. Antonio’s assistant, Tia, somehow spilled a coffee all over your precious denim jacket, which resulted in you taking an early break, frantically trying to find something else to cover up with. 

Thankfully, a new girl on the job happened to have a spare bomber jacket, not hesitating to lend it to you.

The day had went on and the team rushed around, making sure to prep the snacks for whichever artist they had coming in soon. Honestly, you hadn’t paid much attention at the meeting which discussed the artist and their vision for the project. You remember briefly hearing something about a Dominic, and him being from somewhere the UK.

You spent the minutes before the talent arrived on a conversation with your fellow co-workers, not being able to see your best friend at the job, as she always worked the shift after you.

Tia rushed over to your work space, closed off from the actual set, where photos were taken. “He’s here Y/N. Antonio says to make sure everything is ready please.” you nod, forming a fraudulent smile at the young girl before she walked away, but not before almost running into a group of men. You met the eyes of the guy in the middle of the group, being greeted with a warm smile. You returned it, not wanting to be completely rude but also wondering who he was.

I get so lost inside your eyes.

The mystery man stopped one of the staff members speeding past and whispered something. The staff member pointed directly at you before the man thanked her, and walked away. He made his way over to your station and paused directly in front of your figure. You took note of his dyed hair, the blue and pink streaks roaming freely throughout his head. 

“I was directed over here...Y/N right? You’re doin’ my makeup?” the man spoke, a heavy accent rolling off of his tongue. You nod slowly, not breaking eye contact with the man. He shot you a comforting smile, stripping out of his leather jacket, dropping it in the arms of a person in the group he walked in with. “Hold this for me, yeah? N’don’t spill anything on it like last time. M’begging you Adam,” Dom asked the guy before him-now identified as Gavin.

“I’m Dominic but feel free to call me Dom. Actually, I’d prefer if you called me Dom,” He rambled out. You try not to laugh at his introduction as you watched his, only what you could presume team, walk away and find seats near the snack area.

You motion to the seat in front of the mirror, allowing Dom to take a seat, watching him get settled. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it before beginning to type away on it. Already having the essentials laid out before you two your eyes land on the eyeliner, along with the eyeshadow palette. You took note of the earthy tones and tried to brainstorm. It was your job to envision a look. It was your job to execute the look.

And it was your job to satisfy not only your boss Antonio, but Dom and his team as well. You couldn’t afford to have any complaints against you, especially given this was your only source of income.

You grab the top and side of the chair Dom was sitting in, drumming your fingers along the chipped wood as you stared at him through the mirror. You studied his stoic eyes, his basically-average nose, and even down to his lips. His lips were his most prominent feature, his hair coming in a close second. You hear the sound of his phone locking and he set his phone down into his lap. Dom looks up into the mirror and made immediate eye contact with you. You blinked frantically, breathing out and breaking the eye contact.

“Can I ask what the staring match was for?,” Dom questioned you, and you look back at him in the mirror. “I like to visualize. Just mix and match the possible looks.” Dom nodded in understanding. You continued, “It may seem weird but it helps. I swear,” Dom reached forward to grab a stray piece of plastic off the surface in front of him and began fiddling with it. 

“I understand Y/N. Forgot I work in the music industry myself?” Dom questioned you and you laughed. “Hey, I didn’t completely forget Dom. I just...suck at remembering things, especially here” you vent out to him. 

“S’okay. We all forget things sometimes, yeah?”

You hum out a quick “mhm” and tilt your head to the side as the perfect concept for Dom’s look comes to mind. Realizing that you subconsciously leaned part of your weight on the chair where he sat during your conversation, you push yourself back up and move to the front of the station, moving to get everything opened.

Dom watched you intently as you opened the eyeliner, making sure it was good. “You don’t mind?,” Dom randomly asked, you looking up to meet his eyes in the mirror once again. “Sorry, meant the eyeliner. The eyeshadow. You don’t mind putting it on me?”

You turn to face Dom with the eyeliner in hand and used your left hand to slightly tilt his head back. You move that same hand to the side of his left cheek, holding it there, as you began to bring the eyeliner toward his waterline. “I don’t mind it all, actually,” you slightly frown, “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just...people? The close-minded ones. Always judging me for wearing certain products or clothes.” You watched his eyes move to look down at his lap, Dom beginning to pick at his jeans. “Mostly get weird looks from other stylists in the industry for my interest in this kinda stuff. Not to mention the trolls online. It makes me...”

“Well it’s sexy to me. Any guy who can rock eyeliner and eyeshadow? A win to me.” Dom’s eyes went slightly wide, a goofy smile forming on his face. You simply stroked your thumb along his cheek, in a friendly manner, before beginning to apply the eyeliner.

---

Dom noticed you packing the last of your stuff into your purse, pleading with his team for a few more minutes. His convincing finally worked, but when he turned to your station, you were gone. The next shift of staff members piled in, taking your place at the station you once occupied. Dom let out a huff, running a hand through his wild hair. He wondered how you left so quick. But more importantly where you were.

Your lipstick had managed to slip out your purse in the process of you shoving everything in there, your coffee-stained jacked peaking out from the top. Dom noticed it on the floor and immediately picked it up. He briefly read the label: NYX Matte Lipstick in the shade Strawberry Daiquiri. Dom connected the dots, it now making sense that when you two were interacting, he smelled a frequent aroma of strawberry overpowering vanilla.

Strawberry lipstick state of mind.

“You can try the sidewalk. Y/N usually waits for her Uber there.” A voice snuck up behind Dom. He turned around to see a girl before him. She was only a tad bit shorter than him and slim, her skin a reddish-brown. A septum piercing stood out through her fuller nose, along with a simple nose piercing on her left side of her nose.

Dom realized he hadn’t replied back to the girl and shook his head, hoping she hadn’t noticed. Instead he cleared his throat, resting his hand on his hip, pushing back the jacket he had on. “How rude of me. Thank you!” Dom exclaimed, eyebrows furrowing as he looked around at the various exits, wondering which was quick to find you. The girl pointed to a door across from them. Dom thanked her again and headed toward the door but stopped in his tracks, turning around to the same girl who had been a help just moments before.

“Sick piercings by the way.”

----

Three more minutes. 

You looked down at your phone screen, tracking your Uber driver and his navigation as he reached closer to you. You waited in anticipation, finally relieved that your workday had come to an end and soon, you’d finally be in the comfort of your own home. You smiled at the thought of curling up on your sofa with a glass of wine, watching the newest episode of Grey’s Anatomy, with your puppy curled up by your feet.

Until then you waited on the sidewalk, swaying back and forth on the heels of your feet. You contemplated opening up the app Candy Crush to kill time, but the thoughts were interrupted, when you heard footsteps approaching you rather quickly. You squinted, barely made out who the figure was.

Dom halted in front of you, nearly crashing into you. You grabbed the side of his arms to help prevent him from plowing you over. He was audibly out of breath, huffs coming from his mouth. “Y/N...you left your, uh, lip stuff on the floor?” He handed you your beloved NYX lipstick. 

I'd walk through fire for you

You graciously thank him, “Holy shit, thank you Dom! Didn’t even realize I dropped it.” Your smile was small, yet still contagious, Dom fidgeting as you both hear the chime on your phone which signaled that your Uber was just around the corner.

You make out a quick goodbye, not realizing he had more to say. “Wait! If you’re not too busy, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out? Maybe this weekend? I know, shit, this is very weird and sudden but, I just wanted to ask-”

Just let me adore you

You giggled at his rambling and grabbed his hand, guiding him off of the sidewalk and near a random building, and away from you referred to it as, sidewalk rush hour.

Dom groaned in what you could only assume was embarrassment, slowly letting go of your hand, when you had finally worked up an answer to give him.

“I think I know what you’re trying to ask, and I’d love to, actually.”

Like it's the only thing I'll ever do.

Taglist: @wallows-spring

Part 2 will be linked here when it is published! And comment to be added to the taglist!

[starbuck]

Terror Notes: “Go For Broke”

well… I guess I’m really doing this! Some proper, bullet-pointed notes for each episode of The Terror, starting with ep 1: Go For Broke!

I wrote these out last night (and edited them this morning to make them readable - you’re welcome!) so I hope that y’all enjoy my thoughts and assorted nonsense! I tried to save my comments for points I actually wanted to make because I feel like they bring something to the table but I still ended up writing A Lot lol

I love that Crozier couldn’t even be bothered to be present in welcoming Sir John and Fitzjames onto Terror, making Little and Hodgson do it by themselves. One could argue that he had important captain-y things to be doing at that time or something but I’m not 100% sure that wasn’t the case. 

idk if it’s just the angle, but I paused the episode just as the shot of the officer’s mess is coming in from above and Hodgson’s hands make me so uncomfortable. They look so bone-y and weird. (Just what you came here for, I know. Hand commentary.)

Cannot tell you how uncomfortable it is, after many rewatches, to listen to Fitzjames recounting in a casual, lighthearted manner 1) shooting people 2) people catching fire (and burning to death), and 3) their burning flesh smelling “like roast duck” (so, like something edible) and it’s even more uncomfortable to have the closeup be on Hodgson’s face as he laughs at the ‘roast duck’ comparison.

On a lighter note: I love that Fitzjames felt the need to remind everyone what size cherries are by illustrating it with his fingers. In case they forgot, I guess? As someone who occasionally speaks unnecessarily with my hands, big mood tbh.

I LOVE it when Fitzjames gives Little that affirmative tap on the arm after he compares Fitzjames’s injury to Lord Nelson’s. My friend Eli and I refer to it as The Fitzjames Arm Tap. I would like a Fitzjames Arm Tap, pretty please.

God, Sir John loudly setting his hands on the table to try to dispel the tension from the ‘birdshit island’ debacle as he attempts to change the subject is so funny. I’m gonna stop just pointing out things I find funny soon, I swear, but I just cannot handle this scene.

Between Hodgson looking horrifically embarrassed by Crozier’s outburst at Fitzjames and Little looking nervous when Crozier shoots him a look as Sir John says that there’s no reason to be concerned about the ice, it really does seem that they were having to ‘manage’ him even back in ep 1 when his alcoholism wasn’t completely out of hand.

Personal sidenote about this: My Pop-pop is often rude to workers in stores and restaurants (he doesn’t drink thank goodness but he has Alzheimer’s coming on which has worsened his temper) so I very much understand the feeling of being on-edge that an outburst is going to occur and trying to deal with the fallout when it does. Just going by my own experience, I can imagine Little apologizing to Fitzjames for Crozier’s rudeness as soon as they were out of Crozier’s earshot (not that anything Little could say would heal the deep psychological wound that Crozier created but hey, it’s something).

The way that Sir John brushes aside Dr. MacDonald’s and Crozier’s concerns about moving Young when he’s in such bad shape never fails to upset me but also ~foreshadowing for hauling the ill on boats oooohhh~

I said I was done pointing out random things that amuse me but the speed and agility with which Des Voeux pops out of the hatch and onto the deck after Orren falls into the water is just so funny. I could watch that two second clip on repeat all day. Might gif it so I actually can.

Is this a good time to point out that there’s also a scene in Moby-Dick where someone falls from high up on a mast and drowns? It’s in a chapter all about bad omens experienced by the crew of the Pequod and The Terror definitely has some similar vibes going on with the sun dogs displayed in the establishing shot of Erebus in that scene and David Young, a “warning of things to come,” on his way over.

The second(?) time I watched the part where Young tells Stanley that he didn’t think anything of getting headaches since he’s always gotten them, I had this thought pass through my head that was like “oh god, I had chronic migraines for years so I’d never have known if I had lead poisoning either!” but then I realized that this probably was not a relevant concern I should have.

Not sure I have any deep commentary on this but as Gore informs Sir John and Fitzjames about the blocked propeller, he’s standing in the same spot, in the same room as Goodsir will stand next episode to tell them about his death.

Also regarding this scene, I love how Gore waits for Fitzjames to give him the go-ahead to leave before actually going. I know that Fitzjames is his superior officer too but, since Sir John already dismissed him, it seems like waiting for Fitzjames’s approval isn’t really necessary, yet a nice thing to do. Perhaps this is a legitimate formality, but something similar happens later in this episode in the command meeting when Crozier asks Gore how many sun dogs he’s seen; he looks to Fitzjames and waits for his nod before answering Crozier. He doesn’t look to Sir John, he looks to Fitzjames. I know that we know essentially nothing about Gore but like.. underrated ship???? Just saying…

Ten nights ago, I was unable to get to sleep for at least an hour because I started thinking about David Young’s saying “I want to go to my grave as I am” and, of course, that ultimately doesn’t happen for him but also, this, like all things about him, is a “warning of things to come.” I’m pretty sure that no one else was properly buried until, arguably, Fitzjames and ironically, that was explicitly not what he wanted done with his body (and, since his grave was later looted by Hickey, similar to the way that Young’s autopsy ultimately achieved nothing, it didn’t really matter anyway).

I know that this happened exactly ten days ago because I forced myself to wake up and write it down in my notes app, lest I forget, which only prolonged my sleeplessness. I suffer for my analysis. 

Ah yesssss Tozer’s lesbian haircut. We love it! Why does my hair not look like that when I take a hat off? I’d like to file a complaint.

Was just thinking the other day about how Hartnell being the one to notice that there was something up with the ice in ep 1 is followed up on with Blanky complimenting Hartnell’s ability to read the ice to Crozier in ep 7. I wonder if Blanky ever gave him like. ice-reading lessons after becoming aware of his interest and natural talent at it in ep 1? That makes me happy to think about.

The two people who we’re shown awoken by Young’s screaming are Sgt. Bryant and Morfin and like. Do I even have to explain why that’s an Oof?

The way that Goodsir hesitates before knocking on Stanley’s door and Stanley irritatedly closing his book before answering the knock in an exasperated voice would be comedic in any other context. If I’m being honest, it still makes me laugh. As does Stanley’s “As if that weren’t plain.”

I’ve pointed this out before but mmmmm... that shot of Stanley in profile with the open candle flame in the background… the foreshadowing in this ep is thicker than the smoke at… Oh alright, I’ll stop. 

God, the autopsy/dive scene…. Collins being lowered down and entering the water paralleled with Goodsir’s initial cutting into Young’s corpse, the breaking up of the ice paralleled with the cutting of the bone-saw. But most significant to me is the parallel of what is seen/not seen and the long-term effect that this has. Collins sees Orren’s corpse (and then presumably never tells anyone about it), reinforcing his guilt over Orren’s death, the beginning of his mental health decline. Goodsir doesn’t see the cause of Young’s death in his autopsy and this not knowing about the lead poisoning until it’s too late to do anything about it is the cause of many of Goodsir’s later problems as well. And, to finish it all off, both the autopsy and Collins’ dive were ultimately for nothing (considering a spinning propeller is useless when your ships are frozen in). 

Crozier and Blanky’s simultaneous face journeys as Sir John rambles on about how there’s nothing to worry about and they’ll find the passage any day now are truly legendary.

I wrote some pretty extensive tags on this already but man… Crozier’s comment about how not all of Sir John’s men returned from one of his previous arctic expeditions is just so nasty and awful. Like, yes, Sir John is wrong to undersell the danger they’re in and Crozier is advocating for the correct position here, but that was completely uncalled for and horrible to say, particularly in a command meeting, in front of so many people. And Sir John looks legitimately upset by it too. He gets over it quickly, at least on the outside, but I still feel really bad for him (and I NEVER feel bad for Sir John so this is weird for me).

“But of course we will not be abandoning Erebus, or Terror…” Let’s check back in six episodes and see how that’s going! 

Crozier slamming his fist on the table to prove he’s not being melodramatic reminds me of this one post (that I sadly can’t find rn) about Jesus Christ Superstar that’s like “‘CUT OUT THE DRAMATICS’ Judas hollered dramatically.” It’s such an Overall Mood.

I don’t have a developed commentary on this at the moment but it’s an interesting reverse-parallel that Sir John had no concern for Young’s well-being when he was alive, ignoring Crozier’s concerns about moving him from ship-to-ship when he was in such poor health, yet now that he’s dead, Sir John is the one to recommend that Young be buried which Crozier is surprised by, and seems to feel is unnecessary.

There’s been so much amazing commentary already made about Young’s burial scene so I’ll skip it except to say that Hickey’s irritated sigh when he hears footsteps coming towards the grave is SO funny. That’s exactly how I feel when I know that someone is about to tell me something that will annoy me.

Goodsir was really getting into the emotion of Sir John’s “eulogy”/motivational speech before he remembered the promise he made about Young’s ring. Also, what triggered his memory was Sir John saying “We shall earn our loved one’s cheers and embraces,” so no doubt a reminder of the traumatic “Your loved ones will be there in Heaven to welcome you! :)” “I never knew my mother or father” exchange (or maybe just a reminder of the fact that he was supposed to get Young’s ring to his sister but just let me scrape a little humor out of this. God knows I need it).

The shot of Bryant praying in his hammock the night before they get completely frozen-in is honestly deeply upsetting to me. Especially considering he’s a marine so he Did Not Ask To Be Here, yet there he’ll die.

According to Melville, ship’s compasses occasionally spun round-and-round when a ship was caught in a severe storm and this was an incredibly upsetting thing to behold because of how disorienting it was. So, considering that, Fitzjames keeps his composure pretty well but he clearly has some reservations about how things are going and Sir John has no comforting-sounding remark about ‘Magnetic North’ to offer him now.

The bit where Sir John “sees” Crozier, on Terror, turn away from him with a half-smirk on his face is interesting because there’s no way he could have possibly seen Crozier’s expression at that distance and I’m doubtful that he’d even have been able to make out the identity of anyone he might have been able to see on Terror’s deck. So really, it speaks mostly to Sir John’s mental state; his seeing their getting frozen in as a loss against Crozier and imagining that Crozier would see it as a victory for himself.

Ugh the final shot is making me think about @catilinas’s post comparing a shot of the two ships stuck in to the shot of the ink drops from ep 3 and I am LOSING IT but I was losing it anyway because it’s 2AM now and my entire body feels like gelatin. 

THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT! 

SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

[salmonthestoryteller]

Alien Energy, Noah, Max, and Why is Salmon Writing More Theories Instead of Fics?

Seriously, my plan for Monday was to catch up on episode 14x19 of SPN and write Part Two of Almost Doesn't Count.  Maybe even write a Maribel/Mabel fic cuz I’m getting tons of feels for that ship. Instead when I opened my CW app, I decided to check to see if they'd given us any sneak preview scenes from Roswell 1x13 (sadly no), which led me to rewatching 1x12 instead. Yah, that was a perfect example of having zero impulse control.

Spoilers for 1x12 if you haven’t seen it, yet.  Seriously, though, if you haven’t watched it yet you really, really need to.

I’m overthinking things again - of course I am - but this time it is about Noah and Max’s conversation, and the aliens powers and energy.  Noah suggested to Max that healing made him weak, but killing made him strong. That Max would have felt stronger after causing the black out as well.  How chaos and entropy was strength and victory. Flint told Alex and Kyle the same thing. That the aliens in captivity grew stronger when they killed.  This is followed by Kyle bringing up how most of the aliens powers do not seem benign at the end of the episode. Essentially, we’re being led down this path so even the audience begins to question whether the aliens are dangerous.

Let’s back up, though, and remember that after healing Liz, after the initial weakness from the process, Max’s powers did not seem weaker.  In fact, the entire time from the healing to the black out, we’re shown Max’s powers acting out (the computers at the station while he’s working, the lights in the alley during one of his face offs with Kyle, the heart rate monitor, etc)  It was that very excess energy from the healing that enabled him to cause the blackout. Meanwhile, while holding that energy inside of him, Max wasn’t himself. He was more prone to violence, and Isobel described it as something being “not right” that she could sense through their connection.  Max, after his attempt to kill Wyatt Long, calls it a poison.

After the blackout, though, Michael theorizes that the healing absorbed a negative energy, which, once expelled, returned Max to normal. So maintaining energy that didn’t belong to him was effecting Max’s psyche.  Michael, too, brings up chaos and entropy - to Alex when they are teenagers - but in a negative connotation. However, Michael also tells Alex he is able to calm that energy - to silence it; balance it - through music.  So actually, Michael throughout the series has slowly offered up a complete opposite theory to the one Noah is selling to Max and Isobel.

And, no, Noah can’t lie while they’re in the mindscape, but it’s not a lie.  It’s an interpretation. Does absorbing the life force or other energies make their powers stronger?  Yes. But it’s important to remember that Noah said his body was failing him outside of the pod, and he very much wanted to live.  So the negative consequences of that power were of no interest to him, especially since his mind was already warped from the years of isolation.  The kills became an addiction, and he chased after the life force needed to maintain his failing body, ignoring that each absorbed life force was continuing to warp his psyche further.

Max was clearly affected psychologically after healing Liz.  Perhaps he also was after killing the drifter - we don’t know because we get Max’s brief interpretation of the events that followed, mainly focused on Isobel’s black outs.  We would need either Michael or Isobel’s interpretation of what happened post-Drifter to get a clear view of how Max acted afterwards and if he ever needed to expel a large amount of energy at that time.

What we do know, though, is Noah has killed 14 people with his powers. Note it only counts if he uses his powers - he said he snapped Jasmin and Kate’s necks in the flashback while in Isobel’s body.  However, it was only upon killing Rosa, taking her lifeforce, that he was made strong enough to break free of the broken pod. If one healing is enough to cause Max’s psyche to begin to spiral, how much damage is the negative energy of 14 kills affecting Noah’s psyche, already damaged from the solitary confinement in the broken pod?  If he expels that energy, will it be enough to heal his damaged psyche? Or is he too damaged still because of the years in isolation for even that to bring him back? I could almost see a scenario where expelling the energy cures his mind enough for them to speak to a different Noah - one not as warped as who he became after the kills - only for him to die because his body was improperly maintained in his pod.  That would seriously suck, but it’s also something I can see this series doing to us.

If using their powers to absorb life force causes negative reactions in their species psyche - how much of that was the reason for the aliens powers being so negative in Caulfield?  Max can both heal and harm with his powers. Isobel describes her powers as being able to influence someone to take an action they subconsciously already want to do. Noah was able to use that same power to force Isobel to do things she didn’t want to do.  Michael’s powers are capable of both useful tasks and destruction. It’s likely the prisoners at Caulfield were the same way, but the constant negative energy absorbed by the killing they were forced to do caused psychological damage and eventually their powers only manifested on the negative end of the scale. (And that’s just their powers, not counting the isolation and other forms of torture visited upon them.)  Essentially, Project Sheppard created the dangerous aliens they wanted to see by forcing the captives to use the negative aspects of their powers and denying them any means to expel or balance it.

[thescarecrowsbrain]

A small holiday

I’ve been thinking about how no one really understands how to deal with pain. I was listening to a this american life episode about the things we learn from history that we aren’t supposed to learn. A man tells his experience going through the opening of the 9/11 museum for the “vip” members. How he thinks about every war memorial he ever “yawned through” that was the enduring reminder of someone’s worst memories. He said everyone should be forced to visit the museum of their most most painful days, and they should attend it will a group of tourists from Denmark. He said he couldn’t decide if it was worse to see the family of five pulling their children through who just need to get something to eat, or the people who want to feel acutely connected to that pain they never experienced. I’ve been to that museum, parts of it are very powerful, but it does sometimes feel like a glorification of tragedy. Like when you want to watch a sad movie, not because its a good one, just because you need the catharsis. I’m listening to this as I’m walking through Moscow’s “central park” (Gorky Park). And its May first today, we are now officially in the build up to May 8th, which for all you ignorant Americans is Victory Day in Russia. The day we won the Great Patriotic War (which again for the ignorant Americans is WWII). And all around you can buy flags and 20th cen. Style military caps, and little orange and black ribbons. On the day, there will be a huge parade, and the military will march through the Red Square, beneath Putin’s dutiful salute. The People will march with posters of their grandparents and great grandparents in their military uniforms. An impressive annual celebration memorializing the brutal slaughter and starvation of over 20 million russian souls. History in general is a strange concept, but the history of our pain is stranger still. On a different note, I’ve been taking a lot of pleasure in wearing my ripped jeans and flannel here. While I blend in seamlessly in the great state of VT, it’s not really a style here in Moscow (it is among the counter culture youth, but it hasn’t penetrated the mainstream). Occasionally, I get looks, some from the babushkas, and some from like minded skater kids. I mean its a men’s flannel, I’m essentially screaming to the street how punk rock I am. Of course, thats just on weekends. On work days, I wear appropriate button ups with kneel length skirts and stockings. And I was thinking what a white privileged that is. I can be punk on the weekends, and corporate Monday through Thursday (I observe casual Friday). I can chose what to project because conforming is always an option. Being a minority is like always sporting a pink mohawk, people are going to notice you in a crowd. On a friends recommendation, I’ve started meditation with an app called “head space”. It’s been pretty beneficial I think. And I recommend it, especially if you feel like you’ve been a little off balance lately. The idea is that the thoughts in your head are like cars on a road. The goal is to sit beside the road and watch the cars pass by, but often we run out into the road and try to derail or chase the cars. I am an enthusiastic car chaser, dog-like even. And its all this running about that brings anxiety into our lives. So I’ve been trying to let things go and focus on my presence in the world instead of working myself up over hypotheticals. And its probably good, because all my friends know I can be a little erratic now and then (and all the time in between). But, BUT, (butt heehee), and maybe this is just proof of how deeply rooted the toxic anxiety is, but maybe my anxiety is a constitutional part of my personality. Sure, it has led me to some bad decisions and reinforced some negative behaviors. But I have also used it to fuel creative moments and motivate me through eight years of schooling (lets be honest, I was not a motivated student until the second half of freshman year). I’m sure I could find another source of energy, but should I really be changing up the play book right before law school? It’s like the explosive nuclear reactor at the heart of my personality. Sure it lets off some manic-depressive emotional radiation, but it’s not so bad a side effect (better than greenhouse gasses anyway). It may be an emotional roller coster, but while some people find that uncomfortable, I like putting my hands in the air as it pulls me along. It’s not boring. While its probably unhealthy to wallow in dark moods as much as I do sometimes, as I’ve explained to numerous past boyfriends, it’s just where I am sometimes and you have to let it pass in its own time. Besides you don’t get the effusive, life-loving, playful mood without its counterpart. I could probably control it better. But it sort of begs the question, if you want to be less anxious all the time, do you want to be less you? Or at least a different sort of you? Anyway, I really chased down that idea, time to focus on the rhythm of my breathing again and the weight of my body in its contact with the ground. On a much less heavy note, I found a place with trees and hills and dirt and grass to walk on. It’s far more therapeutic than breathing. I also realize I miss seeing the stars. It’s weird living in a place where you never see them. I know I’m headed to the city that never sleeps, and so neither does its light pollution. Theres something very comforting about the presence of an infinite cosmos, mostly void, partially stars. It gives you perspective, and when you never see it, you start to lose track of scale.

[t-baba]

An interview with the author of 'JavaScript: The Definitive Guide'

#490 — May 29, 2020

Unsubscribe  :  Read on the Web

👀 This week we have a fun bit of bonus content at the end of the issue — an interview with David Flanagan, someone who's written more JavaScript books than I've had hot dinners. 😆

JavaScript Weekly

Snowpack 2.0: A Build System for the Modern Web — Say bye-bye to your bundler and let modern browsers’ ES module support do the heavy lifting with Snowpack. Or if you need to target more than just modern browsers, you can always just use it to speed things up in development. This talk by Ryan Lanciaux introduces the idea of escaping using bundlers, if you’re new to this area.

Fred K. Schott

The Process of Making Vue 3 — We know a lot of you are excited about the next major version of Vue.js – the final release is due soon (betas available here) and here Evan talks about the process and how it differs from Vue 2 at a high level.

Evan You / Increment

New Course: Design Systems with Storybook & React — Learn to create a design system from scratch using React, and document the design system to share with your team using Storybook.

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A First Look at Records and Tuples — An introductory look at two new compound primitive value types in the ECMAScript spec: Records and Tuples.

Axel Rauschmayer

▶  What's New in TypeScript — You might know Daniel better from all his TypeScript release posts, but here he is in video form with a brief TypeScript introduction followed by essentially a code and example-heavy ‘state of the union’ about where TypeScript is at and where it’s headed.

Daniel Rosenwasser (Microsoft)

htmx: Build Dynamic Pages Using HTML Attributes — Billed as the ‘successor to intercooler.js’, htmx lets you add dynamic Ajax-y elements, Server Sent Events (SSE), WebSockets and more to a site using just HTML attributes.

Big Sky Software

⚡️ Quick bytes:

🎉 Node.js is 11 years old this week.

💰 The company behind the React-based Gatsby framework has raised $28m in series B funding.

🎧 The TC39er podcast has continued to interview TC39 delegates and is at episode 4. Worth listening to if you want more 'inside baseball' of the JavaScript world.

💛 In the latest Stack Overflow survey results, JavaScript remains the most popular language. However, TypeScript is higher on the 'most loved' list.

💻 Jobs

JavaScript Developer at X-Team (Remote) — Join X-Team and work on projects for companies like Riot Games, FOX, Coinbase, and more. Work from anywhere.

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📚 Tutorials and Opinions

Analyzing the Performance of Notion's Electron App — I was going to save this for our React newsletter but it’s too good! A real deep dive into analyzing the performance of a desktop JavaScript app for a popular note taking service and some basic optimizations that can be done.

Ivan Akulov

ECMAScript 4: The Missing Version — If you were around the JavaScript world in the early 2000s, you might recall how long discussion around ES4 rumbled on before it ultimately fizzled out. Some of the ideas were picked up by ActionScript, as used by Flash, but it felt like we lost a lot of potential progress in that decade.

Evert Pot

3 Hacks to Level Up Your Dashboards — Watch this webinar to learn about three elements that will help you build better dashboards for your application.

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Some Causes of Memory Leaks in JavaScript and How to Avoid Them — A primer on the basic ideas.

Ekaterina Vujasinović

How To Create Better Angular Templates with Pug — Pug is a template engine that allows you to write cleaner templates with less repetition.

Zara Cooper

A (Mostly) Complete Guide to React Rendering Behavior — Details on how React rendering behaves, and how use of Context and React-Redux affect rendering. There are a lot of concepts compressed into this article.

Mark Erikson

▶  A 50 Minute Deno Crash Course — A lot of people are cranking out Deno videos right now, but Traversy Media has a solid reputation for getting these things right. In 50 minutes we get a nice, balanced approach to Deno’s plus points, tooling, building an API, etc.

Traversy Media

Today’s JavaScript, From An Outsider’s Perspective — Lea is a JavaScript expert, of course, but she was trying to help a computer scientist friend work with JS and commented on the frustrations along the way.

Lea Verou

10 JavaScript Quiz Questions and Answers to Sharpen Your Skills — Lots of tidbits here to sharpen your skills and understanding, but keep in mind that not all JavaScript interviews will be like this(!)

Nick Scialli

🔧 Code & Tools

RoughNotation: A Small Library to Create and Animate Rough Annotations — Uses Rough.js for the handdrawn look. Lots of nice interactive examples on the page showing the diversity of annotation types.

Preet Shihn

AudioMass: A Full-Featured Web Audio Editing Tool in JavaScript — Runs entirely in the browser with no backend or plugins required. Impressive. Source here.

Pantelis Kalogiros

See Runtime Values Right in Your Editor as You Type — Quokka.js is a rapid prototyping playground for JavaScript & TypeScript. Code runs immediately as you type and results display in your editor. Discounted by 40% for the next few days.

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Fluor.js: A High Level Way to Add Interactions and Effects to Pages — Think a modern jQuery-lite. Pretty short and sweet for what it is.

François Vaux

Angelfire: Add Custom Context Menus to Any Page Element — Hands up if the name of this project takes you on a nostalgia trip to the 90s.. 🙋‍♀️

Rishabh Anand

number-precision: Tiny Library for Basic but Precise Arithemetic — For when you don’t want 0.1 + 0.2 to equal 0.30000000000000004 😏

NEFE

Perspective: Streaming Pivot Visualization Via WebAssembly — An interesting use for WebAssembly here. Originally built for J P Morgan, Perspective is for building real-time high performance interactive visualizations, powered by a C++ engine compiled to WASM under the hood.

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AppSignal Adds Next.js Integration - Automatically Adds Web Vitals Monitoring

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Autopilot: A Cross-Platform Desktop Automation Library for Deno — Another example of where using Rust for dependencies opens up some fun options to Deno. If you’re using Deno, don’t forget our Deno Weekly newsletter where we’ll be focusing on things like this :-)

Divy Srivastava

vue-list-scroller: A Vue Component for Efficiently Rendering Large Lists — Uses the ResizeObserver API to help with creating a Twitter-like feed that has thousands of items, and supports infinite scroll.

Ivan Safonov

Notable Improvements to the Profiler in React DevTools 4.7.0 — This tweet thread from Facebook developer Brian Vaughn distills out the highlights from the changelog.

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💬 A Q&A with… David Flanagan Author of JavaScript: The Definitive Guide

David has been programming since 1981 and getting paid for it since 1985. In 2011, he started working at Mozilla. Since then he's worked as a full-stack engineer on MDN and at Khan Academy. He currently works on cloud software at VMware and is in the process of releasing the seventh edition of JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, a hugely popular JavaScript book published by O'Reilly.

Why a seventh edition now?

I allowed the sixth edition to become badly out of date (sorry!). So the seventh edition is a major, and long-overdue, update. Importantly, it covers ES2020 and even mentions some features expected to be formalized in ES2021. Also new in this edition is a detailed chapter on Node, reflecting the reality that JavaScript isn't just for web browsers anymore.

(Ed: David has written more on what's new in the seventh edition here.)

What was the story behind writing the first edition?

I started on it shortly after I wrote Java in a Nutshell. In those days the buzz around Java was that Java "applets" could add dynamic content to web browsers. JavaScript seemed like a promising alternative and I remember talking to an engineer from Sun Microsystems (the company that created Java) about what I was going to work on next. When I told him I thought JavaScript might become more important in the browser than Java, he scoffed. But seven editions of my book later, I'm starting to think I was right(!)

What's your favorite chapter?

Most interesting JavaScript code is asynchronous, and now that Promises are a core part of the JavaScript language, I dedicate chapter 13 to asynchronous programming with callbacks, events, Promises and async/await.

Promises are a revolutionary addition to JavaScript, but once you move beyond the simplest examples, it becomes very easy to misuse them and you need to understand them deeply in order to use them correctly and with confidence. So I devote more than 20 pages to explaining them in depth. These are some of the most complicated pages in the book, but if they increase the understanding of Promises, I'll feel I've provided an important service to the community.

You've spent so much time writing books about JavaScript, but what other technologies interest you?

I'm intrigued by both Go and Rust and would enjoy documenting those languages. I've thought about writing short books about React and Angular. And I've wondered whether it is possible to write an interesting book about coding for a non-technical audience.

What's the secret to being able to write so many programming books?

No secret, really: from about 1991 to 2011 I was self-employed and for most of that time, writing books was my primary job. This 7th edition of JavaScript: The Definitive Guide is the first book I've written while also working a regular software engineering job.

You can find David on Twitter @__DavidFlanagan or more about JavaScript: The Definitive Guide at O'Reilly Media.

by via JavaScript Weekly https://ift.tt/2BilxR3

[quarantingz]

seven things i’ve learned so far in quarantine

wednesday, 29 april on my longer-than-what-i’m-usually-allowed lunch break

This entry stemmed from a prompt I had written on one of my contemplative yet meditative roadside walks a while back. Looking up at the trees and unabashedly into the windows of houses I’d pass, jotting down in messy prose what I see and describing it in detail in my Notes app. Revisiting places in my community that both look and feel familiar and observing them closely as if I’m getting to know them again for the first time has been a new-found hobby of mine as of late.

So I present to you, an elaborate list of seven things I’ve learned so far and everything in between, whilst in quarantine: 

Accepting, learning to be okay with and I’d even go as far as saying dancing with loneliness. This is a funny one. I realised after my breakup that I was taken for majority of my adolescence. At least the years where I was still learning how to be an adolescent. This meant that I based a lot of my decisions and sometimes even my happiness on the person I was with. Being the fragile, reserved and passive teenager I was, there were instances where I let people step all over me and take advantage of me. I can say this without feeling an ounce of bitterness now because they’ve already happened. I’ve already borne them. I got out of that labyrinth essentially. I think it’s important to look back on our past selves (and I’ve noticed my peers do the same which is amazing) as we tend to look over our growth and forget to give ourselves credit for overcoming hurdles that at the time seemed insurmountable but in hindsight (to quote Alyssa hehe) now seem trivial. I guess the challenges we go through get harder as we grow up. Like in a video game where the quests increase in difficulty the closer you get to finishing it. Anyway, I digress, so my point is that I got used to having someone to vent to when something particularly exciting or devastating happened to me. While I do think it’s important to open up to someone and not be shy about seeking comfort from them, we can only really rely on ourselves at the end of the day. It’s during these moments of solitude that we’re not influenced by anyone or anything. Perfect for self-reflection.

Doing things “while I remember” them. I thought to myself every now and then that if I had a memoir the title of it would be “While I Remember.” I think I can speak for both myself and Alyssa that we operate on to-do lists on top of to-do lists. To me personally, it was all a matter of quantity over quality. If I didn’t write something down the moment I thought of it, it’ll leave me entirely. As an easily-side tracked procrastinator, I loved putting things off in pursuit of something else that seemed more immediate. But for the last 2 weeks, I found myself taking the initiative to just do something while I remember and while I can. Like if an opportunity to do my laundry when it’s sunny out arises, then just take it. I guess this links to intuition as well. Relying more on intuition when I do things on a daily basis rather than thoroughly thought-out to-do lists has made me feel good recently. 

Active listening, being more attentive and sensitive to people and things. At a time where everything seems to demand our attention, I thought I’d never be able to focus on one thing ever again, whether that’s an episode of a TV show, a podcast or a video. Whenever I get some down time I’d put a film on, deceiving myself that I’ll watch the damn thing when I know I’ll just go on my phone anyway. About two weeks ago though, to my surprise, I managed to watch BlacKkKlansman without getting distracted which is worth scoffing at as it shouldn’t even be considered a feat lol. ANYWAY, let me ineffectively segue into mindfulness – something I’m still trying to get better at each waking day but find myself adopting more in daily activities, whether mundane or taxing. Like when I’m working out or stretching, I try to really focus on the physical sensations I’m feeling as I bend and manoeuvre my body in different forms and motions. Being mindful of my breathing, in for 8 seconds, hold, then out for 8 seconds or so, while doing a child’s pose or that yoga pose that I don’t quite know the name of where you place one bent leg on the other, kind of squatting back and putting your hands together as though you’re praying. Back straight, chest out and finding one spot in front of you to focus on as to maintain balance. Or when I’m running and my breathing starts to increase in tempo – inoutinoutinout, but surprise myself that I somehow haven’t fainted and collapsed on the ground 4 kilometres in. Which brings me to my next bulletpoint:

I learned that I can do almost anything so long as I put my mind to it. Like the fact that I and you too can make any edible substance from scratch, be it a tortilla, challah (Jewish braided bread) or buttermilk. Or even something inedible like a shelf. Although I don’t have the willpower to cross that one off my list yet. Going back to my observation of mindful running, I’ve also been describing my fitness progress to a few people as “running becoming second nature that it almost feels like walking.” I think that’s beautiful. How our bodies can quickly adapt to strenuous movement with training. That being said I also learned the importance of:

Rest (I’m looking at you Alyssa! Haha jk). It’s so easy to get into the rhythm of things and forget to take a breather. I’ve had my fair share of these “poor practices” in the last few years. Like doing uni work for 5 hours straight without drinking water, eating or even doing as little as getting up or looking at something that isn’t forcing blue light into my eyes for a couple of minutes, slumped over my laptop and later complaining about having a perpetually sore back. Also to bring it back to running again, insisting to my sister but more to myself that I can keep running even though my shins are practically crying out for rest. I know it’s hard to pause and take a break when you’re on a roll but resting proactively, rather than as a last resort after we’ve crashed, is integral to the function of our bodies. This book called Why We Sleep highlights that if sleep wasn’t so important then why has it evolved up to this point where we still need at least 7 hours of it for optimal physical and mental health as well as daily performance? Alyssa and I have tackled hustle culture a few times on this blog but it’s so important that we keep coming back to it. Then again we’re so hypocritical because we always seem to remind our loved ones to rest but we hardly ever do ourselves hehe. We’re getting there! No pressure.

Resourcefulness and/or as I like to call it “working with what you have.” I have been very adamant about cooking using ingredients we already have on hand as opposed to finding a recipe and flocking to the supermarket to get all the ingredients on the list. Hell, I sometimes even draw mind maps of meal ideas that share as many components with each other to make sure I get the most out of my money. I think I really did age 20 years since not being with my parents for 3 months, speaking of which, I think this turned out to be a blessing as it made me more intuitive and understanding of the struggle my mum used to, not really complain about but she sure wanted us to hear, that it’s hard to think of what to cook for dependants sometimes [most of the time]. Hats off to all mums out there doing the leg work for us!

Lastly, and I think this point actually ties everything I said together into a neat bow, I learned that life is indeed what you make of it. Emphasis on the doing word “make” as we often tend to be lived by external events and our thoughts when in reality, although these can attack us from different directions, we can choose whether we’ll let them affect us. I recently learned more about the Greek philosophy of stoicism which is living by the fact that “we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.” Again I think that’s beautiful. Hard to practice but beautiful nonetheless.

I’ll end this one with a line by Ottessa Moshfegh which I think encapsulates how I view and treat this quarantine period (or at least try to): 

“Here is how I spend my days now. I live in a beautiful place. I sleep in a beautiful bed. I eat beautiful food. I go for walks through beautiful places. I care for people deeply. At night my bed is full of love, because I am alone in it. I cry easily, from pain and pleasure, and I don’t apologise for that. In the mornings, I step outside and I’m thankful for another day. It took me many years to arrive at such a life.”

- p

[imogenbennettblogsdp]

Non linear story telling - Session 5

So this blog is going to be different from the others (mostly for me that is) because of CONVID-19 the lesson is coming via virtual teaching - which ironic as its a virtual course - so how have I coped? developed my knowledge? what did I learn? well keep reading and I will take you through as I ask myself the same questions.

working by myself in the comfort of my pyjamas sounds nice but the problem is i’m very easily distracted, and live in a loud house hold with no room to be by myself so personally its not an ideal location for my learning and I tried to deal with it by doing it in my room by myself which doesn't help much but its the best I can do, I also learn by explanation... in a visual way, reading is not my forte (even tho there is a voice over, I found myself drifting off or not focusing entirely which is my problem not the lecturers).  I also found that in a class i’m more motivated by other people working to, Floyd Allport in 1920: ‘The social Facilitation effect’ he found that people worked better in teams (even if not on the same project) than people working individually. “the mere presence of other people engaged in the same task as us can boost our motivation.”. So to summarise I can definitely  tell that learning in a class surrounded by others and having ability to ask the lecturer a question straight up other than over emails. In future (fingers crossed) I will not take that for advantage.

Listening to the slides talking about non linear films Pulp Fiction I mentioned, this sparks a personal evaluation as I studied pulp fiction in the past for my level film course so I have quite a bit of knowledge on the film. 

The way Quintin explored the non-linear structure is very fascinating almost episodic and circular (he seems to dabble in a few) I like how he opens the story and ends it the same... in the diner with the bonnie and Clyde homage couple.

One mention in the slides, when Vincent actual dies (Spoiler i’m sorry) half way through the film in butch’s storyline. Which creates irony for the ending scene, when Vincent is asked what he will do in future... we knows he dies so it creates a different vibe for the audience but also allows to understand that we can't get to attached to the characters as in their dangerous job, they can die at any time. I like the way Tarantino played with narrative in this. it intrigues me and is very different to the norm linear structure we're all familiar with. 

From the slides I read this line about Interactive storytelling written by Carolyn Miller  “Interactivity is a conversation between the user and the content...People who participate in interactive entertainments are given two gifts that are never offered to audiences of passive entertainments: choice and control. They get to chose what to see and do within an interactive work, and the decisions they make have an impact upon the story” I really agree with this especially allowing the audience to feel like they have control. personally I enjoy that aspect and it widens my experience giving me something non interactive stories can't, which is making me feel like I'm apart of creating the game and that my choices matter.

paper based interactivity is interesting although personally I don't think ill be as invested in this type of interactive storytelling type as I find it hard to read a book as it is, with the added complexity of multiple story I don't think ill be able to follow. on the other hand interactive reading is made simper with visuals without losing the ‘reading’ element of it. which Is where I introduce to you “Episode”. episode is a interactive story telling mobile app which allows the reader to chose their own storyline and characters look ( what I mean by this is in some episodes the reader can personalise their characters looks which I feel adds a lot to how the reader views the story - A lovely added touch if you ask me!- 

Episode is great in the way you can play/ read and create episodes from the comfort of their home to the top of a pyramid (providing they get a great internet service that it). 

For a task of creating our own interactive story, I find this a good way to challenge the two softwares, originally i was supposed to make a story on twine but to be honest I tried to work it and I hated it instantly... no hate to twine but its very much not my forte, compared to episode its just text and is quite boring/ Dull I feel I am limiting myself. (as you can tell Episode is quite colourful and cartoon like which I lean more towards (and the fact you can create the characters and animate them more). So I asked my lecturer and he confirmed I will be making my story on episode... now before you moan saying ‘i’m not challenging myself’ I am ok, I really only made one episode story and that was via mobile, I’m now doing it on PC which looks like a bunch of coding. 

And to sell you Episode even more...YOU CAN GET PAID TO DO IT!! here is the link again for you to rush over and begin your story haha ..... yes they pay you based off your user reads (how many people read your stories) which is great and can encourage more story to one made. 

I made a ‘rough’ Episode and I found it quite fun, its nice to see something you achieve

The way you create episodes on PC is much different to the app... harder. 

its formed in the way like a play script or code. but it is unforgiving with spelling errors, one error and the whole script errors- not allowing you to view it-. very annoying when you in the flow of writing and you want to preview it and you get shot with tons of these red errors.

Especially when you have no idea where they are or how to correct.(watch all my blogs from now on have perfect grammar and spelling haha. I found my self googling what's the problem was or deleting it a redoing it. other than that when you get the hang of it and learn all your errors... its fun. I could easily make a whole story and get lost in writing. but then again that's what I do... I get lost in my writing and I love it. perhaps it'll be nice to explore that and be able to have a purpose to write again, even if it is for a ‘game’. Another annoying mention is that I wanted to link the story I made but you can't punish it until you have 3 episodes for it...ugh. maybe I'll finish this random story and publish it for you to be amazed #NextJK. like I said ill like to explore this further... perhaps my idea for my media rich projects who knows (eyes_waggle_motion)... oh gosh too much episode writing. I actually screen recorded the episode I created and put it in the google folder...Enjoy!

Playing Black mirror’s Bandersnatch I found the experience fun and interesting, one thing I found happened with other people swell as my self is that after I had my personalised story, I went back to fix what i ‘did wrong’ (essentially I played all the story lines through making a hour and something film into almost 4 hours... wow that shows how much free time I had) and I guess that's something people get wrong with interactive films/games. they feel although they can change or correct something...go back and change it which ultimately ruins the experience (when I say they i’m mostly referring to myself). When I killed a character I didn't really feel that emotion of grief I should have as I know I can go back and keep them alive, kind of takes away the personal touch. 

I liked how it was all based around the book Bandersnatch (which I just researched isn't an actual book... which again resinates to Transmedia in the way they created the book for the film, they are widening the world of the film- more about Transmedia in blog 6-

I wanted to see how else interactive games were made, and I remember form a long time ago I watched interactive games/video via Youtube. So I looked into it and found this video.

which Is very clever in making an interactive story via multi video links and has a good message.. helping the viewer understand debt. - just to say I got it all right and ended up paying my debt :) - although a criticism I would add was that they forced the debt onto you at the beginning, what ever you picked they made you buy the drone which kind of takes the personal touch away but other than that it was a good awarenesses video. Perhaps in future I would like to explore interactive videos ill do it this way (Youtube is a massive content sharing website so it'll most likely get the most interaction via youtube).

I then watched Aloe Blacc’s “love is the answer” on Eko, ‘They allow the user to interact with multiple narratives within a single film.’ Firstly I really liked this episode, it's based on a recording of a music video for Aloe’s song ‘love is the answer’.  it was interesting to see the different directions and roles people undertake at the same time: Aloe the artist himself, Nick the floor manager, Leo (i think) is one of the back up dancers swell as Hannah. Almost portraying what happens beyond the screen, what people do to create such things - like a community as-well as the artist-. 

interesting way of a music video, more of an interactive type, noting I just realised; referencing back to my previous point that people will watch the multi storylines over, and over again. its actually quite benefiting in this case... the song will get stuck in your head leading the viewer most likely download the song on Spotify and listening to it over, and over again... not talking from experience. this is also a type of Transmedia as its not just on Mtv’s music channel or the radio/ youtube, it reaches out to another audience (the interactive audience). just to let you know I followed Hannahs story first as I was curious to wards her role was (I thought she was a model of some sort)

one of the things I like which this ‘music video’ has is when you go onto Aloe’s storyline the music is much louder, to suggest it's prominently his story, he's the focus..it is his voice after all and you are closer to him. making it more immersive again - giving you a choice to hear it at that volume- .

what I didn't like about it? personally I did find it a little boring. its not like there's not much happening action wise, perhaps if there was more interactivity it would intrigued me more? maybe if you chose the location of the set or colour of lights... the little things. 

I liked this session... it was nice to dive back into episode and writing, something which I casted away for a while. made me feel inspired and that's a nice feeling. 

[briangroth27]

Dimension 404 Season 1 Review

I haven’t seen Dimension 404 mentioned much online, but I really enjoyed it! If Black Mirror were fun—it's good, but so depressing so often—it'd be this show. 404 feels like a tonal throwback: I dug the 90s feel to Mark Hamill’s narration and the opening credits and the catchy, spacey theme reminded me of the 1990s reboot of The Outer Limits. Season 1’s six episodes explored a wide variety of tech-based terror and adventures, settling into a family-friendly sensibility that didn’t pull its punches and never shied away from big twists.

The first episode, “Matchmaker,” totally tricked me as to what was going on; I knew there was something off about the dating app, but I wasn’t expecting this. Robert Buckley and Lea Michelle were great as a couple who meet on a Tinder-esque app and the shift in their dynamic after the twist worked well. (SPOILERS) That the app recalibrated a new Adam (Buckley) clone each time he wasn’t a perfect match for Amanda (Michelle) was a totally new and original idea. The lighting in Adam’s  apartment felt off at first, but that made sense in hindsight; it had the appearance of a sitcom, which matched his fake life situation. For a 42-minute episode, I was surprised they went as in-depth exploring the mechanics and fallout of the twist as they did. The resolution felt a little abrupt (and maybe a little off tonally), but this was one of my favorite episodes.

Episode 2, “Cinethrax,” felt a little cliché and old-fashioned with the "Gen X is good, Millennials are annoying" angle, but it was fun nonetheless and boasts solid performances by Patton Oswalt and Sarah Hyland. I bet if I were Gen X, I'd feel the episode was even scarier given the metaphors at work. The episode definitely takes cues from They Live (inspiration it wears proudly on Oswalt’s shirt), but the ending takes a much darker and more emotional turn. (SPOILERS) I'd have reversed the twist to make set-in-his-ways Oswalt the pawn of the alien menace instead of all teens everywhere (he'd just be acting like he hated all youth culture to drive them into the trap). Still, I was impressed they didn’t pull any punches on the ending! Not only do the aliens win, but Oswalt choosing to submit to be with his niece was a sad, touching turn of events.

“Chronos,” episode 3, wasn't horror at all, but was a solid time travel adventure instead. I liked the emphasis on the importance of cartoons, imagination, and idealistic heroes for children. At the same time, the episode kept an eye on the danger of getting wrapped up in your nostalgia to the point where you don’t live your present life. They kept the time travel rules they established well and had a lot of fun with characters crossing their own time streams. Ashley Rickards and Utkarsh Ambudkar were personable leads, while Matthew Del Negro and Anthony Oh were delightfully cartoonish as the larger-than-life Time Ryder and Doctor Entropy. I will say that though the Time Ryder cartoon's theme song is very early 90s (where it’s from), the animation looks like it's from the 80s or earlier. Oh well.

The fourth episode, “Polybius,” was my favorite of the season! It felt like an old school Goosebumps episode with the focus on teens and the manifestation of a monster that mirrored their struggle with bullies (that Ryan Lee was in the Goosebumps movie added to the sense that this was a spiritual descendant of Stine’s series). I thought the episode would just be a spin on evil Tron, but I dug the supernatural aspect. The theme of not running from fear and instead venturing into the maze of life to actually live it was great and important for teens to hear, especially when fronted by a gay character.

Episode 5 (“Bob”) was another non-horror installment and I liked that they randomly did a Christmas episode. This one's purely weird and reminded me of Doctor Who. Constance Wu was a great lead and lent the episode emotional stakes, even though her character shuts herself off from the people she loves. Malcolm Barrett was a solid supporting character as BOB’s caretaker, providing heart to compliment Wu’s analytical intellect and Megan Mullally’s no-nonsense government representative. BOB, the government’s supercomputer who can’t track down a (refreshingly white) terrorist, was an interesting psychological puzzle. I felt sorry for BOB in the end and his wish made me smile. It was nice to include another uplifting episode in the season (even if it was bittersweet), proving weirdness doesn’t have to equal darkness.

Episode 6 proved to be the most surprising of the series, with a twist that took the story in a completely unexpected direction. “Impulse” featured an energy drink that slows down time for the user, essentially giving them super-speed perception, but has an unfortunate side-effect: once the drink wears off, your perception snaps back to the present, making you realize you’ve sleep-walked through hours of your life you can’t remember. (SPOILERS) The story of Val’s (Lorenza Izzo) championship gamer dreams becomes a story of her survival in a post-apocalyptic wasteland after she drinks too much and misses out on years of her life. Izzo plays the reality of a teenager who suddenly realizes she’s old and has responsibilities very well. There’s also comedy in the horrible future as Val tries to get used to her mundane adult life and Izzo is game for all of it. Kudos to the writers for making the gamer a girl, too! Like “Cinethrax,” I was surprised by how old the sensibility here seems to be: Val’s father is right about buckling down and just living the hand you’re dealt rather than chasing dreams and Val’s dead wrong (even though the apocalypse isn’t her fault, the death of one of the people under her protection is). Then again, Val saves the day by “wasting” the rest of her life and the older Val had become a competent leader and responsible parent even after becoming a video game champion, so I’d say the message is a bit muddied in the end. Kenneth Choi’s mysterious proprietor of the energy drink didn’t need to be enigmatically immortal, particularly as this was a standalone short story. Choi was good in the role, but the lack of an explanation for him and the somewhat confusing message hurt the episode. It was still entertaining and wasn’t bad by any means, though.

One note I had for the series as a whole was that I wish they’d continued inserting fake ads into Hulu’s ad breaks. There’s a fun recurring dating site ad in the first episode’s commercials, which added to the immersive feel the opening credits strive to achieve. They could’ve continued this in the other episodes, with things like fake ads for other movies coming in Cinethrax, old school action figure ads for Time Ryder toys, and so forth. The show isn’t hurt for lack of these, but including them would’ve made the show a bit more real.

Dimension 404’s first season explored a wide range of stories and tones, giving us a great idea of the scope of ideas and talent involved. There’s something here for everyone and, while there are a lot of Twilight Zone-esque shows around, this one’s worth watching. I hope Hulu continues the show!

[ladystylestores]

Your Wednesday Briefing – The New York Times

First deadly China-India clash in decades

At least 20 Indian soldiers died in a brawl with Chinese troops in the Himalayas, instantly raising tensions to a high pitch between India and China.

An Indian military spokesman said on Tuesday that three Indian soldiers were killed during the fighting, which involved rocks and wooden clubs, and 17 others succumbed to injuries and cold in the freezing, high-elevation terrain. Preliminary reports indicated that the soldiers had not been shot.

Indian media reported that Chinese soldiers had been killed, but this was not confirmed by Beijing.

The two countries had been working to de-escalate border tensions following several face-offs between Chinese and Indian troops in recent weeks.

Context: The violence is a continuation of a long-running dispute between India and China about the precise location of their jagged Himalayan border, known as the Line of Actual Control. They fought a war over it in 1962 that ended in an uneasy peace.

What’s next: “Neither side wants a war, especially India, because China has a far superior military,” Jeffrey Gettleman, our New Delhi bureau chief, told me. “Both sides are now trying to calm things down, at least that’s what the governments are telling us. What’s actually happening up on the Himalayan border, that’s another story. It’s a very remote area, off-limits to all but a few lonely herders and Indian and Chinese troops.”

Beijing closes schools to contain outbreak

Beijing raised its level of health alert to the second highest on Tuesday, ordering schools to close and urging people to work from home, as the government pressed to stop a spike in coronavirus infections.

Medical authorities confirmed another 27 infections, creating a total of 106 cases since last week, all traced to the sprawling Xinfadi wholesale food market in the city’s south.

City officials face intense pressure to extinguish the new outbreak. President Xi Jinping has made defending Beijing from virus infections a priority.

Dozens of cities and provinces across China have in recent days stepped up monitoring and quarantine measures for people from Beijing.

Here are the latest updates and maps of where the virus has spread.

In other developments:

New Zealand recorded two new coronavirus cases in travelers who had returned from Britain, breaking a 24-day streak without new infections.

Hong Kong will relax some social distancing restrictions on Thursday, allowing wedding banquets and live music concerts to resume.

Local officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma, are worried about an outbreak ahead of President Trump’s first campaign rally in months — slated to be held in a 20,000-person indoor arena on Saturday.

An Oxford University study of the effects of dexamethasone, an inexpensive steroid, on Covid-19 patients showed promising results.

North Korea demolishes office shared with South

North Korea blew up a building where its officials had recently worked side by side with their South Korean counterparts in a liaison office. It was a clear message from the North of its displeasure with the South.

South Korean border guards heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from Kaesong, the North Korean town where the building was located. The blast was so powerful that windows in nearby buildings were shattered. (Watch the video.)

No South Koreans had worked in the office since January, when it was closed during the pandemic.

The North said the explosion reflected “the mind-set of the enraged people.”

Background: The office was opened in 2018 as a sign of thawing relations, and was the first channel for full-time, person-to-person contact between the Koreas.

Choe Sang-Hun, our Seoul bureau chief, said, “The Korean Peninsula may be plunging back into another phase of rising tensions. For months, North Korea has voiced its frustration with the South, repeatedly warning that it has lost faith in dealing with Seoul.”

If you have 5 minutes, this is worth it

Taking stock in a landscape of loss in Iraq

From the moment Iraq’s new prime minister stepped off a helicopter for a tour of Mosul, the city most damaged by the Islamic State, he plunged into a landscape of loss. Everywhere there were wrecked buildings, communities shredded, and the shadow of “the disappeared” — people taken by the Islamic State and never found, and those killed or imprisoned by Iraqi forces or militias.

Our Baghdad bureau chief, Alissa Rubin, went with him as he took stock of years of destruction. “People are bearing the burden of something they did not cause,” he said.

Here’s what else is happening

Hungary: Parliament passed legislation on Tuesday that critics say would cement into everyday use the sweeping powers claimed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to fight the coronavirus.

In memoriam: Sarah Hegazi, an Egyptian L.G.B.T. activist who had been arrested after waving a rainbow flag, then jailed and tortured, took her life in Canada. In a final note, she wrote: “To the world: You’ve been greatly cruel, but I forgive.”

Snapshot: Above, a restaurant in Lake Worth Beach, Fla., in May. Outdoor seating at restaurants has become a popular solution for cities trying to reopen carefully. But in places like New York City, there’s been some backsliding, with people disregarding social distancing because they feel safe outdoors.

What we’re reading: This piece in The Atlantic is an ode to the cluttered home. Maybe clinging to your stuff, like those extra jars of spaghetti sauce, is more in sync with pandemic life these days.

Now, a break from the news

Cook: This compound butter adds richness and pungency to simple grilled meats, fish, toast, vegetables, beans, pasta or eggs. It’s a snap to make.

Watch: The documentary “My Father, a Spy,” which follows the translator and journalist Ieva Lesinska-Geibere as she assesses her relationship with her father, a K.G.B. spy who defected to the United States in the 1970s.

Do: We have a few tips on picking a meditation app that could help you steal a few minutes of Zen.

At Home has our full collection of ideas on what to read, cook, watch, and do while staying safe at home.

And now for the Back Story on …

Deeper danger for Philippine journalists

The conviction of Maria Ressa, the award-winning journalist and founder of the news website Rappler who was found guilty of cyber libel in the Philippines on Monday, is being seen as a blow to press freedom in that country.

Alexandra Stevenson, our business reporter in Hong Kong who has been covering the case, spoke to Carole Landry, on the Briefings team, about the decision.

How much of a chilling effect will Maria Ressa’s conviction have on the media in the Philippines?

The media in the Philippines has been under pressure for some time. President Rodrigo Duterte bullies reporters and calls them “sons of bitches” at news conferences, officials have denied reporters’ access to official presidential events, and trolls have organized online campaigns to single out reporters and call them names like “presstitutes.” Yes, that’s a hybrid of the words press and prostitute.

The verdict of this case is different because it institutionalized some of this hostility. It was a test case for the definition of cyber libel. The case was originally dismissed by regulators because the time limitation — one year — had run out. But more senior officials applied a new argument to cyber libel, essentially saying that because an article can be updated online, it counts as continuous publication, making the libel a continuous crime. With Monday’s verdict, experts now say that publishers of online content can be sued for up to 12 years after something is published.

President Duterte has not been shy about his contempt for the media. Does this court ruling signal a hardening of his approach?

The Duterte administration has become more effective at silencing journalists. The president has threatened for years to take away the license for ABS-CBN, the national broadcaster. In May, the telecoms agency actually forced the network off the air, leaving a massive information void in parts of the country where the only source of general information for basic services and the weather is the broadcaster.

How has the coronavirus pandemic played into this shift?

We’ve seen more authoritarian-leaning governments around the world take advantage of social distancing rules to tighten their grip on protests and freedom of expression. In that same vein you could argue that a crackdown on the media in the Philippines is easier to pull off now because the rest of the world has limited bandwidth for more news.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Melina

Thank you To Melissa Clark for the recipe, and to Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the rest of the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. • We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the U.S. • Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Italy’s capital, to Italians (four letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • Lauretta Charlton, an editor for our Hong Kong newsroom, spoke with Glamour magazine about reporting as a black journalist.

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[melodeemarsh]

aaaaaaand she’s finally lost it.

i. am. ready. to. go. outside.

whooooooooooooooo.

3 days til my REBIRTH INTO THE WORLD.

Li Zi Qi just put out new videos on blue-dyed calico ❤

If you don’t know who she is yet, please watch all her videos!!! They are straight out of a fairytale and at the same time just such a wonderful, slow, beautiful understanding of life. She makes almost everything from scratch—salted duck eggs, lipstick from roses, silk dresses, wool cloaks.

Her channel is honestly what I aspire towards. I want to make videos and blogs that slow down, offer a space to breathe, create wonder and beauty.

Life moves on and it never falls into a complete standstill. The world is having a meltdown right now, but here, Li Zi Qi is quietly making blue-dye calico clothes.

The media tends to intensify the anxiety and fear, and it always urgent and demands attention. So it feels as if everything and everyone is in a sort of a mental frenzy, a sort of panic. But that isn’t true. In some places, life is going on at a slow, sweet, unhurried pace. In fact, perhaps, people who are under lock-down or quarantine or stay-at-home notices are living a slower, sweeter life, too.

I hope so.

I’m sure there are many also struggling with living at home, and trying to homeschool the kids. And people who cannot afford to stay at home and must go out for work, risking their health.

Of course, we all risk our health every day. More people die from car crashes than airplane crashes—and now both are cut at a drastic rate, so perhaps we are also saving people from vehicle crash deaths. Just like how pollution has decreased because of the lockdown in China, which has also saved lives (more lives than from the disease) from pollution long term.

But yet again, it is the people who cannot afford it who are hit the hardest. Malaysia shut its borders a few days ago, and many Malaysians cross over to Singapore to work every day. So a lot of them crossed over with sparse belongings and nowhere to sleep for the next two weeks (could be shorter or longer, but as of now, two weeks). I’m just glad to see how the community here is mobilising. The Jurong East sports hall was opened up for stranded workers to stay. Druggists and Mikkellar Bar are pulling together a donation drive of essentials to ensure they have all the necessities they need.

On the other end of things, Jimmy Fallon now has an At Home edition of his show and I love it—and I never even watched a single full episode of his stuff before. He features a guest and a different charity every episode. So far, he has featured feedingamerica.org, savethechildren.org/savewithstories, which are pulling together resources to support the kids in the States who rely on school for food. Then, there is a donation drive for artists and performers who are affected.

  There is a keen balance of hope and sober reality that needs to be held in these times. We cannot underplay the suffering that people are going through—mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, socially—and yet we cannot be solemn and despairing. Try and understand and see clearly what the situation is, but yet hold on ruthlessly to hope and to humour, to joy and laughter and bright days.

Keep loving and living. Look out for one another, see how we can help our friends and neighbours. This lady posted a wonderful post about supporting the more vulnerable small businesses/gig workers who are directly impacted by the situation right now. Taken directly from her post:

Profiles of those who are also getting hit terribly:

– Those who work in SMEs facing the trickle down effect (those who earn under 100m or employ <200 workers but contribute to 48% of SG’s GDP, employ 65% of SG’s workforce and constitute 99% of all SG’s enterprises.)

– Those who freelance and do gigs (freelance creatives, musicians, actors, food delivery, etc)

– Those whose work depends on having medium to large sized groups of people show up (events managers and organisers, conference organisers and support, trainers, teachers, F&B, film crews, small renovation/contractor firms, party planners, arts-based companies etc)

– Those who run events that are too easily and unfortunately deemed “non-essential” (social enterprise CSR events, creative work like theatre, film music, celebrations etc)

– Those who work in hospitality, F&B, tourism, aviation, trade

There are some ways you can help:

1. Ask them how their work has been hit by the Covid crisis. If they’re doing badly, ask them if you can financially support them somehow. Find ways to commission work from them or ask around on their behalf. Pay them fairly and generously for their work. Bonus: You never know if the thing you’re commissioning from them can also be the financial and psychological invitation they need to explore a pivot in their business.

2. If you’re one of the luckier ones who are actually not worried now and are sniffing for cheap, plummeting stocks to invest in so you can get even richer, consider investing in people around you who exhibit great potential. I’m not talking about pity investments. I mean thoughtful intentional investments that support Singapore’s economic and societal well-being. Consider using some of your significant loose change to be a mini venture capitalist or mini impact investor.

3. Tip the gig economy people you come across – like your food delivery person, your taxi driver, your part-time waiters and food servers. Be more generous than normal. Tipping has never been our culture but the option has been built into the apps’ system if we choose to use it. There are many around us who are forced to choose between taking medical rest and keeping up their hourly paid work. Tip them so they know if they are sick especially with flu like symptoms, they have some kind of financial relief and psychological permission from someone to stay home and rest.

4. If you bought tickets to a local theatre performance/concert/workshop that got cancelled, if it is possible for you and you have more than enough, don’t harass them for refunds especially if you know they are a smaller player without deep pockets.

5. If you are a big corporate/govt agency that has to cancel your events and workshops (especially those CSR events run by smaller social enterprises), pay them something – anything. In exceptional times, explore how to make an exception to the usual contractual rules. Write in a new goodwill clause if you want. Pay them a goodwill amount – your generosity could mean some employees get paid. This is especially for social enterprises which hire the elderly or people with special needs. If possible don’t cancel but postpone the event and still pay upfront as a gesture of solidarity.

6. If your friends are running F&Bs, go dine-in (at an appropriate distance). Or order takeaway/catering from them.

7. If you run some kind of community group or religious group especially, find a way to gently and kindly ask if there is anyone going through hard times in their business who needs some help. You’ll be surprised how many real needs are there in front of you even amongst those who look comfortably middle class. People may stay quiet and stoic because the global situation seems so dire out there and they feel their own hyper-local needs seem smaller in comparison.

❤

On a more light hearted note… Someone made lo-fi beats with PM Lee speaking in the background…

this has become a very, very long post.

I would like to end with a quote from Avery’s own quarantine diaries (she is on day 6) because I think she puts what I am trying to say in this blogpost perfectly:

“Finally, I came across a really beautiful metaphor in Jeremiah 17 today. It’s worth typing out here.

Thus says the LORD:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.

He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.

He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when the heat comes, for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit…

Oh LORD, [you are] the fountain of living water.” – Jeremiah 17:5-8, 13

I love the imagery of a tree planted by water that never fears in drought or heat. I’m doing all right for now, but for many people, right now is a time of personal and financial drought. And yet God says our leaves can remain green. We will still bear fruit. Because the very source of our life is God, the fountain of living water. Last year I began to learn about joy in all circumstances, joy despite drought. I know I’ll keep learning more.”

Joy in all circumstances. Peace beyond understanding. Love beyond all reason.

That is where I turn to, in times of trouble.

There is a part of me that feels a little nervous or fearful, writing and speaking about my faith, but I truly believe that Jesus died for me and saved me, and that God’s love sustains me, and that God turns all evil into good.

Truly.

Keep on burning bright, you little light.

xx

Melody

the quarantine diary – day 12 aaaaaaand she's finally lost it. i. am. ready. to. go. outside. whooooooooooooooo. 3 days til my REBIRTH INTO THE WORLD.

[gzw1689]

On Yuzuki’s Dream Sequence in Sora yori mo Tooi Basho (A Place Further Than the Universe)

I’ve been really enjoying Sora yori mo Tooi Basho (A Place Further Than the Universe) so far, having watched the first four episodes. It’s one of those series where I feel the desire to stop and reflect a bit after the end of each episode, rather than moving straight on to the next one. But during some of that downtime, I started having somewhat conflicted thoughts about a certain sequence where we see one of the characters’ dreams.

In the third episode, when Yuzuki is lying down in her bedroom, she opens her window to see Mari, Shirase, and Hinata climbing a ladder outside her window urging her to come to Antarctica with them. Yuzuki takes Mari’s hand, and the strong winds cause the ladder to fall over, and everyone with it.

Then, the show suddenly cuts to Yuzuki waking up on the floor beside her bed. When she goes to look out the window, she remarks on how strange of a dream she had.

I responded well enough to this sequence* in the moment. But upon first reflection after the fact, it started to seem a little, well, iffy to me in a way. I think part of this has to do with received knowledge about dream sequences from various writing advice I’ve seen on the Internet and otherwise gathered over the years (at this point, I don’t really remember exact sources). Granted, I think most of the time, they were talking about ineffective use of dreams.

For example, inserting a dream sequence into the narrative can be a problem if it distracts from the forward progression of the plot. Or if the sequence isn’t initially transparent about the fact that it’s a dream, you risk making the reader/viewer feel as if they’re being lied to about what’s actually going on in the story world.

I think the latter point is what sort of puzzled me about this particular sequence. As a first time viewer, as far as I could tell, it was essentially following the reality of what had happened so far. It didn’t entirely register with me that the sequence was a dream until after it to cut to the actual reality of the situation in the story. Given that, I was curious as to why this sequence hadn’t bothered me when I was actually watching the series.

Upon rewatch, I noticed that the visual cue at the beginning of the sequence indicating a dream is rather subtle: Yuzuki is lying in bed, and she simply closes her eyes. This does not necessarily mean she fell asleep, and since the sequence happens so quickly after she does close her eyes, my mind didn’t immediately think “she’s dreaming”, and didn’t do so until I processed what was going on before my own eyes. Even then, I wasn’t entirely sure.

I suppose I began to question the reality of the sequence because it had such a fantastical flavour to it. The imagery and overall situation of people climbing a ladder to her window and blustering wind seemed rather over-the-top within the context of what I’d seen in the series thus far, which has mostly been rather grounded. I thought to myself, “is this really happening?” After seeing all of that, and especially everyone falling down with the ladder, suddenly cutting back to reality simply felt like confirmation that the whole thing was a dream. I’m guessing that this may have been the intended effect. Or maybe I’m just slow at these things. At any rate, after articulating the content of the sequence and reflecting on it further, its execution comes across as acceptable to me at the very least. There is a sense of ambiguity before the cut to reality, so it’s not like the series was “lying”.

That said, I also responded to the sequence on an emotional level upon first viewing, even with those uncertain feelings. Thinking about it more, I believe it was because it conveyed Yuzuki’s emotional state and situation in an effective manner. Much of this hinges upon what directly happens after the sequence. Taking this into consideration, it becomes apparent that the sequence highlights Yuzuki’s initial conflict by contrasting her desire--realized in dream form--with her reality.

Shortly after she wakes up, Yuzuki checks her cell phone only to find that the acquaintances she met at school--peers that she was hoping would become her friends, but that she had to turn down numerous times due to work commitments--have left the chat group in her social app, leaving her alone.

From an earlier scene where she has a conversation with the other three main girls, we already know that Yuzuki wants to have friends more than anything, but that the demands of her life in the entertainment industry make that very difficult for her. Here, we’re presented with the depths of her loneliness in leading such a busy life, where the two people she had hoped to befriend suddenly cut her out. Knowing this information about her deep desire for friendship from beforehand--where it was conveyed through dialogue, and demonstrated with flashbacks to these acquaintances--increases the impact of this scene, where we see firsthand just how lonely her situation is and has become.

I think the sense of contrast present in this pair of sequences--the happiness in seeing her desire so easily actualized only to be so suddenly hit with the bitter reality--helped to communicate this information about Yuzuki’s situation and do so in an emotionally stirring manner. And at least for me, it also makes her as a character feel so human, in how she struggles so much with the thing she wants and needs the most. All of this makes the dream sequence really work for me on an emotional level.

Overall, I believe this is an example of using dream sequences effectively and purposefully in a story. But I don’t know. Maybe this type of sequence isn’t really all that weird or questionable, and I’m just rambling on about nothing, haha.

On another note, while writing all of this out, it occurred to me that this conflict may have already been somewhat resolved within the episode it was introduced. But I think there’s still room for further development there. Sure, Yuzuki has just made new friends, but actually forming close relationships and maintaining them will probably be the next steps toward easing her loneliness. In any case, I imagine there will be something down the line that shows just how meaningful these new friendships will become to her.

With all of that said, if the fourth episode is any indication, I have a feeling that I’ll continue to enjoy Sora yori mo Tooi Basho. Going on an expedition to Antarctica is no easy task, and each of the characters has to step up to the challenge. And the way that these characters are written, while I feel as if I’ve gotten to know them really well within the first few episodes, I still feel like I’m learning new things about them.

Despite not being the smartest--as shown by her worries about passing all of her school tests--Mari shows herself to be rather skilled with a compass. We know Hinata was diligent enough to graduate from high school at a younger age, and we get to see this in action when she shows quite possibly the strongest understanding of the expedition training within the group. While displaying a cute public persona, Yuzuki tells her new friends that she hates that kind of thing. And Shirase knows the leader of the Antarctica expedition--who returned from the one during which her mother disappeared--which may lead to some tension later on.

Looking back, I think part of the reason I decided to watch this series was the positive word-of-mouth about it. I thought maybe I’d understand it by the end, but even now, I feel very invested in the story. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

*After I wrote this and posted it on my Tumblr, I found out that there seems to be some disagreement over what the term “sequence” means in film and similar media. I’m using it as per the definition in the textbook Looking at Movies by Barsam and Monahan, which defines it as “A series of edited shots characterized by inherent unity of theme and purpose”. According to the book, one or more sequences make up a scene.

However, the Wikipedia article on the term says that “a sequence is a series of scenes that form a distinct narrative unit, which is usually connected either by unity of location or unity of time”, which indicates that one or more scenes make up a sequence. A quick Google search seems to suggest that this is the more agreed upon definition of the term. But this isn’t really helped, however, by the Wiktionary definition, which says it’s “A series of shots that depict a single action or style in a film, television show etc.”. At any rate, it seems like the way in which I learned the terminology from my textbook does exist, but isn’t very common.

With all of that said, I’ve decided to keep the post as is from before I discovered all of this. I think of the entire part where Yuzuki reflects on the day, has her dream, looks at her phone, then answers her door to talk to the three other girls as the scene; and each of those parts as smaller units composing that scene. Since I don’t know of any other term for a unit smaller than a scene but larger than a shot, I’ve decided to stick with using sequence.

Though I don’t know. Maybe with what I know now, perhaps it makes more sense to think of the larger unit as a sequence, and all of those smaller parts as scenes.

I guess my point is that I don’t want to get too bogged down in the terminology, so I just want to be clear on how I decided to use those terms for the purpose of this post.

[zyibo-blog]

                 Media journal of ‘Media detox’

 Day 1

   ‘media detox day’

On Wednesday 17th of May, I did something that I never try before. It was my first day to quit social media for the whole day which means in that day, I don't use phone, laptop or any other electronic equipment. In the early of day, it was just interesting and curious for me by stop using any electronic equipment. because I posted a message on Facebook and told all my friends on Tuesday, so I wouldn't worry about any unread messages. I shuted down my phone in the morning. Around 7:00 AM, I cooked my breakfast, first time ate breakfast without watch phone, and went to gym with my flatmates. Talked with my flatmates a lot on the way to the gym, it was the first time we talked so many topics, he also looked very energetic. Because there is no phone. The weird thing is I found sometimes I would be watching phone not for the sake of entertainment but just to kill the time.

In the beginning, I felt disconnect with internet is not a big deal. I could do anything to kill time. However, I was wrong. I kept thinking about what if I missed some important news or notifications? what if some emergency phone calls coming? I try to give up, I almost couldn't resist the temptation of phone, I always wanted to check unread message, emails and notifications. Fortunately, my friend came to see me and dragged me to take a walk. We chatted a lot face to face and discovered many beautiful places in campus. He also borrowed a basketball, we played for hours. To be honest, I haven't sweated that much since I come to university.

                                 Day 2

Appendix One: Media Journal for date

 Time

Activity

Media encountered

6:00

Wake up

Phone alarm

 6:00

 Check phone

  Close alarm

  Check unread message

  Check iLancaster timetable

6:00--6:10

Change clothes and brush teeth

~

6:20--6:45

Breakfast

Watch news on phone

          7:00--8:30

Go to gym

One the way to gym

Posters of society in university

Listen to music

Message friend, ask him whether he come or not

Advertisements outside the gym

Buy water

Watch random TV show while running on the treadmill

(there is a small screen on the treadmill)

    Open fitness APP on phone and record running time and Weight lifting weights

    Check message

    Take photo of my weight and record it on the phone.

 8:40--9:00

Take shower

Play music on phone

     9:00--9:40

Use laptop

Log on university website

Log on moodle

Check university email

Check news and activities happened in college

Prepare the course past paper

Check Facebook and twitter message

Watch random video on Youtube

 9:40--10:00

Go to library

Print the past paper or power point slides that needed in class

     10:00--12:00

In the lecture

Use iLancaster to check-in

Use laptop to write notes in lecture

Use phone to check dictionary

(because my first language is not English)

Log on moodle

Check message on phone

Take photos of the content on the big screen in the front

 12:00--13:00

In the seminar

Use iLancaster to check-in

Use labtop to log on moodle to see the power point

Communicate with classmates

Write notes on laptop

13:00--13:40

Lunch time

Check instagram and message

13:40--14:00

Rest

Check Weixin message and post

Send message to friends

Check bus timetable

14:00--14:30

Take a bus

Watch news

Message friends

See whether there is a discount or not

Use phone to make a  shopping list

14:30--16:00

Shopping

Go to Sainsbury

Use Nectar card

Advertisements in Sainsbury, such as Samsung, Tropicana, Pepsi, etc

Different brands

Discount items information

Sign up membership of Sainsbury

Call taxi number

16:00--18:00

Revision

Use phone to check dictionary

Check university’s email

Log on moodle

Revise with notes taken in the morning on the laptop

Review power points

         18：00--19：00

  Use phone to see BBC news play Snapchat

Use Skype to contact with my family

Also send recent photos to them

Play music

Call my friend or message them by using Weixin

Check Facebook status

Leave comments (my favourite news is about politics and economy)

 19:00--20:00

Laptop thing

Watch interesting video on Youtube

Edit some more information on my own official account in Weixin, write status and post some photos on it.

Others’ interesting essay and photos

Advertisements of movie and anime, novels or TV series,etc

Edit email

Recommend activities and interesting news happened recently

20:00--20:45

Dinner time

Watch film while eating

20:45--22:00

revision

Use moodle and online power points, just like above

22:00--23:00

  Play music

Read electronic novel on phone

See whether are there any more recommend novels or not

Charge online for APP

Advertisement of new books

23:00--23:30

  Log on Amazon accounts

Check discount information

Many brands’ advertisements

Check account status

23:30--00:30

  Watch film

Text friends

Set alarm on phone

See timetable for tomorrow classes

Read guitar sheet music by using phone

 00:30--1:00

 Watch one episode of favourite TV series

1:00

Sleep

                           Day 3

  My reflection of the 'media detox day’

  During that day, While doing all these activities, I always wanted to open my phone or laptop to check are there any unread message or did my friend call me? I also wanted to use 'Google'. Usually I always use 'Google' when I met any difficulties. without my phone and internet within couple of hours.I realised we have already become very dependent on internet, because we are member of this society. I can't remember when does the Internet become a secondary storage for our brains, and anything that we think isn’t essential to our survival gets stored on the World Wide Web. for example, sometimes when I want to go shopping, I always Google discount information or compare different stores on internet. Also, when I want to make a cake, I have to Google it even I knew those steps. I became extremely dependent on internet that I do not remember the skills I have learned. I can find satisfactied results on Google in mere seconds. Google become the best answer of any questions that come to our mind. I checked my Google searches history , and I counted the total number of my Google searches of April. I found out that I did an average of 30--40 searches each day in April.

Moreover, in the past few years, I have been spending too much time on internet and viewing the web page. Sometimes, I felt that overuse Internet has actually chipped away my capacity to concentrate and contemplate. Every time when I met difficulties,the first thing on my mind is use 'Google' to find effective measures. It become part of my life, and it makes me lazy. In 1960, media theorist Marshall McLuhan mentioned that media does not only supply the stuff of thought but also shapes the process of thought (Carr, 2008). Because of Facebook messages, television, email and notifications. we become very hardly to concentrate. Many things around us are distracting our mind.  On that day I quit social media, I always want to give up, I almost couldn't resist the temptation of phone, I always want to check unread message, emails and notifications. As result, I locked my phone and laptop in the drawer at that day. While the Internet has restored reading and writing as central activities in our culture, it has also changed how we read and write completely (Shirky, 2010). I always read novels on my phone, and I also have a electronic book. Sometimes, I also found it is hard to concentrate, When we read online, Wolf says, we tend to become“mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, and making rich mental connections when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged (Carr, 2008). I remember once I was younger, I was so focused on a book, even my mom shouted my name many times for dinner, I wasn't able to hear her. I used to immerse myself in the book for hours. However, nowadays, I couldn't concentrate for one hour.

In 1964, McLuhan also pointed out that media is an extension of our selves (Marshall 1964). Sometimes I would be using phone not for any purpose but just to kill time. I will be relieved if my phone is held by my hand. when I am taking shower, there has to be a music playing. To be honest, if my phone, laptop disappeared someday, or all information on them was stolen, I would basically be losing abilities of spelling, arithmetic, calculation. There is a research has shown that around 68 % of students start panicking and uncomfortable after just a few minutes in a room without their phones or a computer (Konnikova, 2013).

   People on social media have more stressful life (Chore, 2013). because we compare ourselves with others. Social media provides us many ways to compare ourself with others (Chore, 2013), we always compare the number of friends on Facebook, the number of likes we get on Instagram, the number of re-tweets we get on Twitter, etc. more and more comparison make us feel unconfident and jealous. There was once I remembered I went to watch movie with a group of friends, but the next day, I saw one of my friend post many photos, everyone is on photos except me. I felt unhappy and sad. I kept thinking one question ' where did I offend him?'  Another thing that people like me fear about is Being ignored, during the 'media detox day', I felt like withdrawing from real life when disconnect with internet. during that day, I always thinking what if I miss some interesting news or important calls.

In fact, during the 'media detox day', I still found there are something far more interesting than phone, chat with my friends face to face rather than message each other. I start to walk around our campus , discover every corner in university. And I bought some books, it is the first time for me to go to book store this year. If it wasn't 'media detox day', I would never ever realised that I become hardly to concentrate. Social media is causing me more stress than happiness.

    Blog link:

                                             Reference:

  Carr, Nicholas. 2010. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. W. W. Norton.[Accessed 20 May 2017].

    Marshall McLuhan, (2017). Understanding Media The extensions of man  [online] Available at: http://robynbacken.com/text/nw_research.pdf  [Accessed 20 May 2017].

     Carr, N., 2010. Does the Internet Make You Dumber? [Online] Available at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704025304575284981644790098 [Accessed 2017].

     Konnikova, M., 2013. HOW FACEBOOK MAKES US UNHAPPY. [Online] Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/09/the-real-reason-facebook-makes-us-unhappy.html [Accessed 2017].

    Shirky, C., 2010. Does the Internet Make You Smarter? [Online] Available at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704025304575284973472694334 [Accessed 2017].

    Kelner, S., 2013. Is FOMO depriving us of our ability to exist in the present and take pleasure in the here and now? [Online] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/is-fomo-depriving-us-of-our-ability-to-exist-in-the-present-and-take-pleasure-in-the-here-and-now-8449677.html [Accessed 2017].

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[canaryatlaw]

So I'm kind of tired, but it's more of a you woke up at 7 am and are still awake at 1 am go to bed tired rather than a complete and total state of exhaustion. This has also been the first week when I've gotten out of bed on time every morning since at least the beginning of February. I'm very happy about that. Anyway, today was pretty good, busy but good. I did wake up at 7, got ready and went to work, where I continued to work on the huge stack of trial prep papers I have, which I am slowly but surely making progress on. After spending another 8 hours on it I'd say I'm probably a third of the way through. The document I'm writing up is around 30 pages. Sigh. This is gonna take a while. But yeah, I worked on that pretty much all day, which is fine, it's boring but it's not terrible, at least it requires some brain power in summarizing and formulating what to write, so it's better than just flipping through files aimlessly. Over my lunch hour I traded between reading my oral argument outline and catching up on fanfiction, lol. I feel like I'm not making a dent into the massive back up in my inbox, but I am steadily reading and deleting emails, so it's gotta add up at some point. Hopefully over break I'll have time to really address that. The highlight of the day came around 4:40 shortly before I had to go. I had given my supervisor the affiliation agreement and first report we needed to do for field placement for him to sign off on, and the office has the supervisors do a mid-point and end-point evaluation that they keep on file in case you want to work there (since pretty much everyone they hire has clerked for them) so he had me look it over at the same time and omg you guys, it was so nice I wanted to start crying. I was a little nervous about it because I did miss a lot of days because I was so fucking exhausted for an entire month, and there was that whole incident with the crazy attorney saying I lied to her (which I knew he knew wasn't true, but still) but it was nothing but compliments and it really made me so happy. I actually wrote it down on my computer to put in my "cheer up notes" doc and I wanted to share with you guys what it was because it made me so happy, so here it is: “Rachel is hard-working, intelligent and has an incredible ability to learn the mission statement of the Office of the Public Guardian. She is an excellent legal writer and is very open to receiving comments. She has good courtroom presence and is a pleasure to work with in the office. She has all the elements in her to become a remarkable attorney and guardian ad litem.” Like......I don't think I could ask for a more glowing recommendation. And like, I do work hard. I work really hard, but I don't necessarily expect it to be noticed, I've kind of been conditioned to think it's the way it HAS to be if you want any chance of surviving in the real world, and maybe it is, but to see it really noticed like that just made me really, really happy. So that left me on a good note, though I then proceeded to leave my lunchbox in the refrigerator, where it'll hopefully stay for the next week since I'll be on spring break. Whoops, lol. So I had to do my oral argument at school at 5:30, and I did not trust public transportation to get me there on time because I've been burned way too many times by it. I knew getting an uber would mean having to deal with traffic, but I figured it still gave me a better shot. Except my uber app crashed like 3 times before I could even get one, so I ended up saying fuck it and used Lyft (not that it really matters, since most drivers are on both). Got a nice driver, had a pleasant conversation with her, traded stories of crazy funny things her kids have done and my siblings have done. It was nice. I ended up getting to school around 5:25, a little later than I would've liked but it worked. Our prof wanted us to go in pairs, one for each side, so we could argue against each other basically. So the girl I'm against is already there, we're friends so it's not a big deal, but we sit and talk for a few before our prof shows up and we get started. Overall it went pretty well, there were a few times I kind of got stuck cuz she like brought up a case I hadn't read and I just had to admit that which kind of sucked (but at the end she said in real life that wouldn't happen because you'd get your opponent's brief in advance so you'd know what to argue). But she said we both did really well, and I can deal with that. So I was happy with that. By the time we finished it was like 5:55, and I had small group at 7:30 so I had some time to kill. I went down to the lounge but it was like, completely and totally deserted so I didn't feel like sticking around there, so I went to the subway down the street and got some food since my dinner was in my lunchbox in the fridge at the office. I still had some time to kill after that, so I went across the street and got some tea from Starbucks and sat in there for a while, reading the law review article we're supposed to read for LARC tomorrow. By 7 I started heading over to the church and made it right on time. Small group was good, it was focused a lot on loving your neighbor, which if you've been following me for any length of time you know is a subject I can wax poetic on for hours on end because I have so very many feelings on the topic. It's one of the reasons I picked this small group over the others that fit into my schedule, because it's called "knowing God and loving others" and I liked that a lot. So we read the story of the Good Samaritan which of course I could recite to you by heart at this point. Then they had us break up into pies to discuss our thoughts on it and I got paired with this kind of awkward guy who was sitting next to me, he's probably at least 30 and balding quite a bit and just generally quiet, but I'm good at talking, especially on a subject like this, so we were able to keep a decent discussion going. When we reconvened as a group and they wanted to know what we talked about I of course brought up my distaste for how just about everyone walks by the homeless without so much as a second thought, as if they're not even human, and how Christians have become so good at limiting our compassion to those we think deserve it, which goes exactly against the lesson the bible is teaching here. I also talked about how love is essentially the central tenet of Christianity (1 John 4:8- "God is love" "all the commandments come down to this- love the Lord you God with all your heart soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself") and yet we've become so good at getting stuck in the complex pieces and tangential issues of religion without first applying love as an overriding principle, which is how you get the strict religious types like the Pharisees and their modern day equivalents (I don't need to name names, you know who I'm talking about). I then also brought up the les mis quote I'm quite fond of, "to love another person is to see the face of God," meaning God is the definition of pure love, his very character is reflected in you loving the people around you in the most selfless way. And I just think that's such a perfect way to put it, really. So yeah, as evidenced by the last several hundred words, this is obviously an issue I could go on about at length, so it was nice to get some of that out tonight. I've been enjoying small group a lot, though getting home afterwards has been a pain. I took the bus to the normal train stop I've been using for the route to church, but the bus was still 20 minutes away. Boo. It was 9:30 at that point, and the donut shop I tried the other day is right there and doesn't close till 10, so I figured if I have to wait 20 minutes for a bus I at least want to do it with a donut. I feel like actually trying one of their donuts on Sunday was a bad idea because now whenever I'm waiting I'm gonna be like "mmmm, donuts" because now I know how good they are. They obviously only had a limited selection left, but I ended up picking a captain crunch Bismarck donut, which ended up being like the exact type of donut I always want haha, it was a glazed donut stuffed with captain crunch infused vanilla custard with a few pieces of captain crunch on top, and it was just heaven. Eventually the bus did come, and eventually I did get home. I wasn't ready for bed yet so I turned on Training Day, which was a pretty solid episode. I need to know how many more episodes we're getting though, and how they're gonna wrap it up. As far as I can tell they haven't released any press beyond episode 1x07, but that may not mean anything left. It stinks because the show did have a lot of potential, but you really can't continue on when you lose the actor who is legit the main character and heart of the show. Sigh. It was good though, plenty of good action for Rebecca which I always appreciate. Then I watched Powerless quickly, which was hilarious as always, and I loved the captain cold shoutout, very funny episode. Then I spent like 15 minutes facing my damn affiliation agreement and evaluation to the field placement lady, though I probably shouldn't complain because she's been exceedingly patient with my quite late submission of these documents, probably because it's a pass/fail situation, but I still appreciate it. And yeah, then I packed my bag quickly because tomorrow is the start of the church kids team retreat a bit outside of the city, just for one night. Should be fun though! I'm looking forward to it, even if I may be the youngest person there 😂 we'll see. And then I got ready for bed and hear we are. I am tired though so I'll sign off here. Goodnight ladies and gents. Happy Friday.